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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 120 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: patient · tear · pit · bat · snap · swing

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pit — in a race
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. snap — to click
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. tear — to rip
  11. swing — in golf
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tear — from crying
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  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