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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: cap · patient · land · trunk · hand · can · rest · rush

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rest — a break
  3. hand — help
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. land — a country
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. rest — what's left
  11. can — to be able to
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. rush — hurry
  14. land — to come down
  15. rest — what's left
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. can — a tin
  18. land — ground
  19. can — a tin
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cap — a lid
  22. hand — in cards
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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