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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · patient · date · plane · ground · game · net · fork

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fork — in a road
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — a tool
  8. game — wild animals
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — the animal
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ground — a position
  20. date — the fruit
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. net — for catching
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. game — a match

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