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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 · ball · mate · stand · game · hand · net · plane

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stand — to bear
  3. ball — a dance
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — wild animals
  6. net — for catching
  7. hand — in cards
  8. game — a match
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. net — after costs
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. net — in sport
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. ball — a great time
  22. hand — help
  23. plane — a tool
  24. mate — to breed

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