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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 116 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: object · patient · fall · club · degree · bat · coach · wound

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bat — the animal
  5. object — an aim
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. club — for dancing
  8. object — to protest
  9. club — a group
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fall — to drop
  12. degree — temperature
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. club — for golf
  15. object — a thing
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bat — for baseball

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