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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 · pitcher · net · land · pitch · pit · pop · bat

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bat — the animal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. land — to come down
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pop — soda
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. land — a country
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pop — music
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. land — ground
  24. net — for catching

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