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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: pass · capital · hand · patient · saw · rash · face · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. face — to confront
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. hand — help
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rash — a series
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. net — after costs
  13. face — to point toward
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — money
  16. net — in sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hand — in cards
  19. capital — a city
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. saw — the tool
  23. face — part of the head
  24. pass — a permit

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