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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: shower · deal · cap · hand · pitch · key · perch · patient

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cap — a lid
  5. shower — to wash
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cap — a hat
  12. key — the most important part
  13. perch — the fish
  14. hand — help
  15. shower — rain
  16. key — in music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. cap — of ice
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. deal — to handle
  24. pitch — completely

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