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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: cap · game · patient · hand · last · face · squash · tube

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cap — a lid
  4. hand — in cards
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. game — a match
  7. last — final
  8. face — to point toward
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cap — of ice
  11. hand — help
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — finally
  14. face — to confront
  15. squash — the sport
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. last — to go on
  18. cap — a hat
  19. face — part of the head
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tube — the underground
  22. game — wild animals
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. tube — a container

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