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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. snap — to click
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. mate — a partner
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bound — obliged
  7. season — of the year
  8. mate — to breed
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bound — tied together
  11. mate — a friend
  12. season — in sport
  13. hand — in cards
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bound — certain
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — help
  24. pitcher — a jug

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