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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rush — hurry
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wake — a trail
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lean — thin
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rest — what's left
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. clip — a video
  24. lean — to bend

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