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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: bank · bat · rest · cell · patient · ground

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ground — crushed
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bank — for money
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rest — a break
  13. bank — for money
  14. ground — a position
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bat — the animal
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — in an idiom

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