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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: patient · snap · present · wound · pitcher · trunk · cap · hand

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. present — there
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cap — a hat
  7. hand — help
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to click
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. present — the time now
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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