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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: leaves · patient · jam · stock · bat · plane · date · ground

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. ground — crushed
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. date — the fruit
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stock — goods
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. ground — a position
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stock — shares
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stock — a soup base

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