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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 116 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: patient · fork · content · court · wave · fall · race · straw

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. race — humankind
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fall — the season
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. fall — to drop
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. patient — a sick person

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