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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 116 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: spring · patient · nail · can · bat · shower · pitch · last

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitch — completely
  4. shower — rain
  5. spring — a coil
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bat — the animal
  9. can — to be able to
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. spring — of water
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — final
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. spring — the season
  17. can — a tin
  18. last — to go on
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. last — finally
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. nail — on a finger

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