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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: board · patient · nail · mine · scale · hand · bound · court

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. scale — in music
  3. court — of a king
  4. mine — for digging
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. board — a committee
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bound — obliged
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. court — of law
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. board — to get on
  17. hand — in cards
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. scale — size or range
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. hand — help
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. court — for sport
  24. nail — on a finger

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