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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 · clip · patient · rock · face · pitcher · drill · ball

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cap — of ice
  4. drill — army training
  5. rock — music
  6. ball — a dance
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ball — a great time
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. drill — the tool
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rock — a stone
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. face — to confront
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. face — part of the head
  21. drill — a practice
  22. clip — a video
  23. face — to point toward
  24. ball — a round shape

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