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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: lash · straw · stock · pitcher · last · game · face · patient

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — goods
  3. last — finally
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. face — to point toward
  7. last — final
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — wild animals
  10. last — to go on
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. face — part of the head
  14. game — a match
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stock — shares
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. face — to confront
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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