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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ground — crushed
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. spring — the season
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. lie — to recline
  14. spring — of water
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a leader
  18. sharp — clever
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ground — a position
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. sharp — exactly

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