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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cell — in biology
  4. spring — a coil
  5. plane — a tool
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spring — the season
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. spring — of water
  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