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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: squash · mate · bat · patient · bore · chest · content · ball

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ball — a great time
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bore — to tire
  5. content — happy
  6. chest — of your body
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a dance
  12. chest — a box
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bat — the animal

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