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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: patient · rash · press · cold · coach · court · file · fan

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rash — hasty
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rash — a series
  9. court — of a king
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. press — newspapers
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. cold — not warm
  21. court — for sport
  22. press — to push
  23. press — a publisher
  24. coach — a trainer

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