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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: patient · bat · saw · mark · march · ground · prune · deal

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. march — the month
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. mark — a grade
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. deal — to handle
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ground — a position
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mark — a trace
  19. march — the month
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. prune — to trim
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bat — the animal
  24. march — music

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