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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: ball · craft · swing · saw · chest · track · patient · bat

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. ball — a great time
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. craft — a skill
  7. chest — a box
  8. track — to keep track
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. saw — the tool
  12. track — a song
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. swing — to play on
  15. ball — a dance
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. track — a path
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bat — the animal
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. swing — in golf
  24. craft — boats

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