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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: court · racket · chest · patient · can · tear · degree · land

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. land — a country
  3. can — to be able to
  4. land — to come down
  5. chest — a box
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. chest — of your body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. can — a tin
  14. court — of a king
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. chest — of your body
  17. can — a tin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. land — ground
  21. court — of law
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — to rip
  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