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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: patient · net · bat · march · chest · cue · mug · sharp

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. net — after costs
  4. mug — a face
  5. cue — a signal
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — the animal
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cue — a hint
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. mug — to rob
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. net — in sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cue — for pool
  19. chest — a box
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. net — for catching
  22. mug — a cup
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. march — music

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