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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. patient — a sick person
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. ball — a great time
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bat — the animal
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bound — certain
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — tied together
  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