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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wind · pitcher · fall · bass · patient · ground · foot · fan

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bass — low music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fall — the season
  10. bass — the fish
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. foot — a measure
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wind — moving air
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fall — to drop
  22. ground — a position
  23. wind — moving air
  24. foot — the bottom

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