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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: toast · present · patient · bat · stick · board · bound · cell

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — a phone
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. board — to get on
  5. present — a gift
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. toast — bread
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cell — in biology
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. bound — certain
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. board — a committee
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bound — tied together

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