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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: spring · game · rush · bat · ruler · mark · racket · patient

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mark — a grade
  7. spring — the season
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spring — of water
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. game — wild animals
  15. mark — a trace
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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