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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: court · mark · pop · cold · patient · racket · cap · cue

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. court — of law
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pop — music
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mark — a grade
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. mark — a trace
  19. cue — for pool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cold — an illness
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. pop — to visit
  24. patient — a sick person

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