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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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Word bank
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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: pit · hand · patient · club · date · land · board · rush

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pit — a hole
  4. land — to come down
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. club — a group
  8. board — a committee
  9. club — for dancing
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. date — the fruit
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pit — in a race
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. hand — help
  20. club — for golf
  21. land — ground
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. land — a country
  24. hand — in cards

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