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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bass — low music
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wound — an injury
  10. present — there
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — money
  15. present — the time now
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. present — a gift
  20. wake — a trail
  21. capital — a city
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bass — the fish
  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