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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. clip — to cut
  5. band — a music group
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. court — of a king
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. court — of law
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. foot — a measure
  13. band — a ring
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. court — for sport
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. file — a line of people
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. file — a tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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