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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 116 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: bat · patient · kid · tear · saw · pitcher · lash · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. kid — to tease
  8. season — of the year
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. kid — child
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — to rip
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. saw — the tool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitcher — a jug

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