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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — a safe
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cell — in biology
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kick — in football
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — in cards
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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