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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: pop · pitch · toast · patient · hand · cabinet · lash · cold

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. pitch — completely
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pop — music
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hand — help
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pop — soda
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. toast — bread
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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