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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: roll · patient · trunk · march · swing · pitcher · content · kid

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. swing — in golf
  7. roll — a cake
  8. kid — child
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. swing — music
  11. roll — a list
  12. content — the amount
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. swing — to play on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. march — the month
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. march — music
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pitcher — a jug

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