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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. sharp — clever
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — the animal
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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