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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: race · swing · net · chair · bat · patient

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. race — humankind
  4. swing — to play on
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. race — a contest
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. net — for catching
  11. race — the arms race
  12. swing — music
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. chair — a leader
  17. swing — in golf
  18. net — in sport

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