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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 · perch · kid · sharp · bat · spring · ball · patient

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kid — to tease
  3. spring — of water
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. ball — a dance
  6. kid — child
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spring — a coil
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. ball — a great time
  21. perch — the fish
  22. spring — the season
  23. sharp — clever
  24. patient — a sick person

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