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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: fall · patient · bat · toast · can · firm · jam · spring

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. toast — bread
  3. can — a tin
  4. spring — of water
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. firm — a company
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. fall — the season
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. firm — decided
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. can — to be able to
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. can — a tin
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spring — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spring — a coil
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. firm — steady

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