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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: bulb · kid · patient · cabinet · face · bat · lean · pitcher

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bat — the animal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. face — to confront
  11. kid — child
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. lean — to bend
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lean — thin
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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