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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · tear · patient · kid · bat · mark

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bat — the animal
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mark — a grade
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. tear — from crying
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — from crying

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