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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cell — in biology
  5. board — to get on
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tear — from crying
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pop — music
  11. clip — a video
  12. cell — a phone
  13. board — a committee
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pop — soda
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. clip — to cut
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. deal — to handle
  24. clip — for paper

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