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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: game · court · race · fall · bore · wound · key · patient

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. race — the arms race
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. court — of law
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fall — the season
  12. race — humankind
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wound — an injury
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. key — the most important part
  18. court — for sport
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. race — a contest
  22. key — in music
  23. court — of a king
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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