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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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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: patient · pitch · hand · ball · hide · board · bark · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. board — to get on
  6. ball — a great time
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. board — a committee
  11. bark — to shout
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitch — completely
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hide — to keep secret

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