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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 120 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: patient · mouse · chest · bat · cap · court · root · bark

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. root — the cause
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. court — of a king
  8. cap — of ice
  9. court — for sport
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bat — the animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. court — of law
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cap — a lid
  20. root — of a word
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. chest — a box
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. root — of a plant

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