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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. clip — to cut
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spell — letters
  6. clip — a video
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. spell — magic
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. tear — to rip
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stock — goods
  17. spell — a short time
  18. deal — to handle
  19. shower — rain
  20. stock — shares
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stock — a soup base

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