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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: straw · cabinet · firm · hand · face · cap · pitcher · patient

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. firm — a company
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. face — to point toward
  7. firm — steady
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. face — to confront
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. firm — decided
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hand — help
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. hand — in cards
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. straw — a straw man

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