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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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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: pitcher · dip · kid · fine · present · patient · stand · mark

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mark — a trace
  3. present — the time now
  4. fine — all right
  5. present — a gift
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mark — a grade
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. present — there
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. dip — to sink
  18. stand — to bear
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. kid — child
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stand — for spectators

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