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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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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: mouse · swing · can · wound · cold · court · vault · patient

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. court — of law
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — not warm
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. court — of a king
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. swing — music
  15. vault — a safe
  16. cold — an illness
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wound — an injury
  19. can — a tin
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wound — an injury

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