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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: safe · patient · pound · bat · cell · content · coach · rush

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. rush — hurry
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. content — the amount
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pound — a weight
  21. content — happy
  22. cell — a phone
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bat — in an idiom

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