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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 · cell · chest · spring · net · stick · scale · patient

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. chest — a box
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. spring — of water
  6. court — of a king
  7. spring — a coil
  8. scale — in music
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. court — for sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — in sport
  15. scale — size or range
  16. chest — of your body
  17. net — after costs
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. net — for catching
  22. court — of law
  23. spring — the season
  24. scale — for weighing

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