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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: chair · patient · toast · bat · hand · wake · pitcher · rest

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wake — a trail
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chair — a leader
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. toast — bread
  20. hand — help
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. rest — a break
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bat — in an idiom

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