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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: face · patient · net · pitch · straw · roll · wax · wake

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wax — to grow
  4. roll — a list
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. net — in sport
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. net — for catching
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. net — after costs
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. roll — a cake
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pitch — completely

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