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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: bear · spring · band · bat · pit · patient · net · chest

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. net — in sport
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. net — after costs
  13. pit — in a race
  14. spring — of water
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. net — for catching
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. chest — of your body

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