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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 120 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: patient · spring · pitch · bat · firm · plane · fan · sharp

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. firm — a company
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — the animal
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pitch — completely
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. plane — a tool
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. firm — decided
  24. pitch — a sports field

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