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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. hand — in cards
  4. craft — a skill
  5. pitch — completely
  6. hand — help
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. file — a document
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. craft — boats
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. straw — dry grass

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