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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: bear · coach · drill · patient · arm · wind · kid · court

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wind — moving air
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kid — child
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bear — the animal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. court — of law
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. court — of a king
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. arm — a part of something

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