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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: date · patient · cell · bat · charge · toast · drill · perch

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bat — the animal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. charge — a price
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. perch — the fish
  10. charge — electricity
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. toast — bread
  16. drill — army training
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. date — the fruit
  20. charge — in control
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. drill — a practice

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