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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: stick · race · land · pitcher · straw · dip · patient · lie

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. race — humankind
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. lie — to recline
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. dip — to sink
  15. land — to come down
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. land — a country
  18. race — a contest
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. race — the arms race
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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