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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: chest · wound · pit · toast · patient · wave · bat · rash

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. toast — bread
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wound — an injury
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. rash — a series
  20. pit — in a race
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wound — an injury

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