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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: fall · hand · pitcher · land · deal · suit · patient · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fall — to drop
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. hand — help
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. land — to come down
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. suit — to fit
  14. fall — to drop
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. deal — to handle
  17. suit — in cards
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. land — a country
  20. fall — the season
  21. land — ground
  22. suit — clothes
  23. rash — a series
  24. deal — a big deal

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