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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mate — a friend
  3. sharp — clever
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mate — a partner
  6. land — ground
  7. present — there
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. row — to paddle
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. present — the time now
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mate — to breed
  18. present — a gift
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. racket — for tennis

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