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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: mouse · calf · patient · court · march · swing · date · cold

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cold — an illness
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. date — the fruit
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. swing — to play on
  9. court — for sport
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. march — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — of law
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. march — the month
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cold — not warm
  24. march — the month

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