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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. pit — a hole
  4. deal — to handle
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — of a king
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. court — of law
  11. branch — a division
  12. pit — in a race
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. court — for sport
  17. clip — a video
  18. net — after costs
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. clip — for paper
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. patient — a sick person

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