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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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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: pit · straw · game · foot · bat · bear · kid · patient

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. game — a match
  5. bear — the animal
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. kid — to tease
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bat — the animal
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. foot — a measure
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. kid — child
  24. straw — dry grass

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