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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. lean — thin
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. land — to come down
  7. cap — a hat
  8. file — a document
  9. root — of a word
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. land — a country
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. land — ground
  15. root — the cause
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. file — a line of people
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. root — of a plant
  21. file — a tool
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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