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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: present · bat · patient · foot · deal · bore · clip · hand

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. hand — help
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. present — a gift
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. hand — in cards
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bore — to tire
  13. clip — a video
  14. present — the time now
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. foot — a measure
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. present — there
  22. bore — to drill
  23. deal — to handle
  24. patient — a sick person

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