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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: spring · board · date · net · bat · arm · mate · patient

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. date — the fruit
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. board — a committee
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. net — after costs
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. net — for catching
  18. board — to get on
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bat — the animal
  21. net — in sport
  22. mate — a partner
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. mate — a friend

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