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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: bear · wind · bat · club · pitcher · hand · patient · toast

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. club — for golf
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bear — the animal
  21. club — a group
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hand — help
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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