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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: file · patient · kid · suit · bat · wound · perch · court

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. suit — clothes
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. file — a line of people
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. file — a tool
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. suit — in cards
  12. bat — the animal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wound — an injury
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kid — child
  21. perch — the fish
  22. court — for sport
  23. file — a document
  24. bat — in an idiom

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