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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: foot · court · last · patient · chip · swing · kid · cell

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cell — a phone
  3. last — finally
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. last — to go on
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cell — in biology
  8. swing — in golf
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. kid — child
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — a measure
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. swing — music
  18. court — for sport
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. court — of a king
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. last — final
  24. court — of law

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