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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: bass · wind · saw · cap · lash · toast · hand · patient

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. wind — moving air
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a lid
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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