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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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 — a sick person
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. clip — a video
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pound — a weight
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — to cut
  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