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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. capital — a city
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. court — for sport
  7. kid — child
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. court — of law
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. clip — for paper
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. court — of a king
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — a grade
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pass — a permit
  24. clip — a video

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