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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: bark · season · cue · game · bat · patient · file · band

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. game — wild animals
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cue — a signal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cue — a hint
  13. season — of the year
  14. game — a match
  15. bark — to shout
  16. band — a music group
  17. file — a document
  18. bat — the animal
  19. file — a tool
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cue — for pool
  22. season — in sport
  23. band — a ring
  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