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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: vault · patient · pitch · race · bat · plane

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. race — a contest
  4. vault — a safe
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. race — humankind
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bat — the animal
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — completely

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