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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
468
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: lean · patient · hand · cap · face · file · present · trunk

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cap — a hat
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cap — of ice
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. face — to confront
  9. present — a gift
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. file — a line of people
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. cap — a lid
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. trunk — of a tree

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