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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
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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: bat · patient · roll · rash · date · bore · jam · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bat — the animal
  14. roll — a cake
  15. bore — to drill
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. roll — a list
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bore — to tire
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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