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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: kid · date · leaves · pitch · chair · patient · land · bear

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bear — the animal
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pitch — completely
  23. kid — to tease
  24. patient — a sick person

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