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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 · track · land · saw · bat · bear · sharp · spring

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. saw — the tool
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. saw — the tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. spring — of water
  10. land — ground
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. land — a country
  14. bear — the animal
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. bat — the animal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. land — to come down
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. track — to keep track

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