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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wind — moving air
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. craft — boats
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. craft — a skill
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. sharp — clever
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wind — moving air

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