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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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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: straw · patient · saw · cap · face · pit · bat · wake

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. saw — the tool
  4. face — to confront
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cap — of ice
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pit — a hole
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pit — in a race
  24. face — to point toward

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