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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 120 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: patient · pitcher · present · foot · wound · rock · trunk · cold

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. present — there
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wound — an injury
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. rock — music
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cold — not warm
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — an illness

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