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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. present — a gift
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. kick — in football
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. scale — in music
  23. bat — the animal
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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