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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: hand · wake · cap · pitcher · dip · stock · chest · patient

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cap — of ice
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stock — shares
  13. dip — to sink
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — help
  24. stock — goods

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