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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. squash — to crush
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. object — to protest
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wake — a trail
  11. squash — the sport
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. face — to confront
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. object — an aim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. object — a thing

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