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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 · bat · cold · nail · board · shower · bulb · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. board — a committee
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. board — to get on

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