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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 116 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: bound · object · cold · coach · swing · court · fall · patient

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — tied together
  3. fall — to drop
  4. swing — to play on
  5. court — of law
  6. cold — not warm
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. object — a thing
  10. court — for sport
  11. swing — in golf
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. fall — to drop
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. object — an aim
  16. swing — music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fall — the season
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — of a king
  22. bound — obliged
  23. object — to protest
  24. bound — certain

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