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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · lash · straw · dip · ground · pitcher · mine · wound

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. ground — a position
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — an explosive

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