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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. ground — crushed
  4. clip — to cut
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. board — to get on
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. rash — hasty
  10. clip — a video
  11. rash — a series
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. ground — a position
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — for paper
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. deal — to handle
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. ground — the earth
  24. board — a committee

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