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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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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: shower · pitch · bay · lie · patient · kick · bat · straw

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. shower — to wash
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bat — the animal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. kick — in football
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. lie — to recline

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