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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 116 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: field · court · bore · hand · snap · patient · chair · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chair — a leader
  5. field — farmland
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bore — to tire
  16. court — for sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. court — of law
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. court — of a king
  22. snap — to click
  23. hand — help
  24. bat — in an idiom

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