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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · foot · tube · patient · bat · squash · clip · court

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mate — a partner
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. mate — to breed
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. court — for sport
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. clip — to cut
  10. squash — to crush
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. court — of law
  14. clip — a video
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. tube — the underground
  21. court — of a king
  22. mate — a friend
  23. foot — a measure
  24. tube — a container

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