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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: court · cold · kid · swing · patient · bank · land · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. rash — a series
  6. bank — for money
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. court — of law
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cold — an illness
  14. land — to come down
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bank — of a river
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bank — for money
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. rash — hasty

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