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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. capital — money
  9. wake — a trail
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mouse — the animal

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