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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 · cell · bat · court · fork · game · coach · press

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. press — a publisher
  3. game — wild animals
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. court — of a king
  6. game — a match
  7. court — of law
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. press — newspapers
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. press — to push
  13. fork — in a road
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. court — for sport

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