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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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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 · plane · patient · cell · mouse · chip · bear · cold

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. plane — a tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cell — a phone
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. plane — in geometry

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