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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bat — the animal
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. last — finally
  6. ground — a position
  7. tube — the underground
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. last — to go on
  12. tube — a container
  13. ground — the earth
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ground — crushed
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. last — final
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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