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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 · pass · spring · face · board · cold · can

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to confront
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pass — a permit
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spring — a coil
  11. can — to be able to
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — not warm
  17. can — a tin
  18. spring — the season
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spring — of water
  24. pass — to spend time

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