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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: shower · bark · dip · swing · patient · pit · land · court

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. swing — in golf
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. land — ground
  7. court — of law
  8. dip — to sink
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. land — a country
  13. pit — a hole
  14. bark — to shout
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. pit — in a race
  19. land — to come down
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. shower — rain
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. dip — a sauce

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