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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. clip — a video
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kid — to tease
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rash — a series
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. kid — child
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. shower — to wash
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. shower — rain
  21. fine — all right
  22. rash — hasty
  23. fine — high quality
  24. bear — to put up with

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