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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: fan · bat · racket · pitcher · march · firm · cap · patient

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. march — the month
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cap — a hat
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. firm — a company
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. firm — decided
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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