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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.

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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 · fall · stick · game · mouse · bat · cap · face

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fall — the season
  4. cap — of ice
  5. face — part of the head
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. face — to confront
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fall — to drop
  23. face — to point toward
  24. game — a kind of play

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