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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: bear · drill · key · patient · chest · date · pitch · net

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. date — the fruit
  3. net — for catching
  4. pitch — completely
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. net — after costs
  9. bear — the animal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. key — for a lock
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chest — of your body
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. net — in sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. chest — a box
  24. drill — army training

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