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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · perch · patient · rush · craft · root · coach · court

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. root — of a word
  4. perch — the fish
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. court — of a king
  13. rush — hurry
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. craft — a skill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com