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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 116 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. kid — to tease
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bound — obliged
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. kid — child
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. squash — to crush
  17. board — a committee
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bound — tied together
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. squash — the sport
  22. board — to get on
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bound — certain

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