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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: perch · press · cue · rock · patient · cold · last · court

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. court — of a king
  3. cue — for pool
  4. last — to go on
  5. rock — a stone
  6. press — to push
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. cue — a signal
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. press — a publisher
  13. cue — a hint
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rock — music
  17. last — final
  18. press — newspapers
  19. last — finally
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. cold — not warm
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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