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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · race · last · present · bat · root · patient · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. last — to go on
  4. hand — help
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. race — humankind
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. race — the arms race
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bat — the animal
  15. present — a gift
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. root — of a word
  18. present — there
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. present — the time now
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. race — a contest

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