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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: cap · racket · cue · chest · game · mate · patient · scale

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cue — a signal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cap — a hat
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cap — a lid
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. game — a match
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. mate — a partner
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cue — a hint
  18. chest — a box
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cue — for pool
  21. scale — size or range
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. scale — in music

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