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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · patient · kid · cap · staff · lie · land · pitcher

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spring — the season
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. staff — employees
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. cap — of ice
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cap — a hat
  10. kid — child
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. land — a country
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — of water
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cap — a lid
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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