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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. row — a line
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. kid — child
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. tube — a container
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. row — to paddle
  23. hand — help
  24. pass — a permit

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