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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: stick · drill · patient · straw · rush · date · rash · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. drill — the tool
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. drill — army training
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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