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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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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bulb — for light
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. tear — from crying
  16. club — a group
  17. wound — an injury
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. tear — to rip
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. staff — employees
  24. bulb — of a plant

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