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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. cold — not warm
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pop — soda
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. net — in sport
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bound — certain
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pop — music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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