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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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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: patient · wound · trunk · stock · date · court · shower · bat

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. court — of a king
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — to wash
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bat — the animal
  10. court — of law
  11. date — the fruit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. wound — an injury
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. court — for sport
  24. shower — rain

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