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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 120 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: trunk · chest · degree · race · plane · court · patient · pitcher

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. race — a contest
  6. degree — temperature
  7. court — of law
  8. chest — a box
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. race — humankind
  16. degree — from a university
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. court — for sport
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. plane — a tool
  23. degree — an amount
  24. race — the arms race

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