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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: bat · patient · pit · content · mark · plane · field · cold

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. plane — a tool
  4. mark — a grade
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. content — the amount
  8. field — a subject
  9. mark — a trace
  10. field — farmland
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pit — in a race
  16. field — for sport
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pit — a hole
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cold — not warm
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cold — an illness
  24. content — happy

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