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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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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 · fall · bat · pound · court · saw · plane · kid

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kid — child
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. saw — the tool
  8. court — of law
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fall — the season
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. plane — a tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pound — a weight
  18. saw — the tool
  19. court — of a king
  20. fall — to drop
  21. court — for sport
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fall — to drop

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