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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: patient · court · bear · tear · plane · bat · cell · toast

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. court — for sport
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tear — from crying
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. plane — a tool
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. toast — bread
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bear — the animal
  18. court — of a king
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. court — of law
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bat — for 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