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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: pitcher · patient · present · board · chip · straw · drill · cold

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cold — an illness
  3. present — the time now
  4. board — a committee
  5. chip — to eat
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. present — a gift
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. present — there
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. drill — the tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — not warm
  23. board — to get on
  24. chip — in a computer

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