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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. clip — for paper
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. clip — a video
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — to bear
  22. net — after costs
  23. clip — to cut
  24. patient — a sick person

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