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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.

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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 · pitcher · bat · mug · saw · patient · branch · net

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — to rob
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. saw — the tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — the animal
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. net — after costs
  17. branch — a division
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. net — for catching
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. net — in sport
  24. branch — of a tree

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