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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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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: kid · patient · cap · deal · bear · foot · pitch · straw

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. kid — child
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitch — completely
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. deal — to handle
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bear — the animal
  22. kid — to tease
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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