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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: nail · patient · bat · rest · deal · land · pop · club

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rest — what's left
  3. club — for golf
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. club — for dancing
  10. land — a country
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. pop — soda
  13. land — to come down
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rest — a break
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bat — the animal
  19. club — a group
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rest — what's left

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