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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: hand · patient · swing · fan · bat · mate · field · racket

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mate — a friend
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mate — a partner
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. field — farmland
  13. swing — music
  14. hand — help
  15. mate — to breed
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. field — a subject
  18. hand — in cards
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. field — for sport

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