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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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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: ball · patient · bat · pound · fall · club · present · snap

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. present — the time now
  2. present — a gift
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. fall — the season
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. club — a group
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. fall — to drop
  20. snap — to click
  21. fall — to drop
  22. present — there
  23. patient — a sick person
  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