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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. charge — a price
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. charge — electricity
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. charge — in control
  15. hand — help
  16. file — a line of people
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. straw — a straw man

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