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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. date — the fruit
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — to rob
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mug — a face
  12. roll — a list
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chest — a box
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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