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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: swing · patient · key · spell · bat · sharp · chest · pitcher

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spell — magic
  5. swing — to play on
  6. chest — a box
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chest — of your body
  9. swing — in golf
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spell — letters
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. swing — music
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. spell — a short time
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bat — the animal
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. chest — of your body
  24. key — 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