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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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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: wound · cap · fall · rash · pitch · patient · cue · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. fall — the season
  3. cue — a hint
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pitch — completely
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cue — for pool
  22. rash — a series
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cue — a signal

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