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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rash — hasty
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. race — a contest
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. race — the arms race
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. ball — a dance
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. rash — a series
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. race — humankind
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. spring — of water
  24. ball — a great time

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