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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: rash · present · court · key · patient · kid · straw · spell

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. key — the most important part
  3. court — for sport
  4. present — the time now
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. present — there
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. present — a gift
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spell — a short time
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spell — magic
  13. court — of a king
  14. key — for a lock
  15. court — of law
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spell — letters
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. key — in music
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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