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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 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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. season — of the year
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pass — a permit
  12. row — a line
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. clip — for paper
  19. season — in sport
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. clip — a video
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ruler — for measuring

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