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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. field — farmland
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. squash — to crush
  7. field — a subject
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. shower — rain
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. squash — the sport
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. field — for sport
  24. shower — to wash

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