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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 116 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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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. stand — on your feet
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. saw — the tool
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. saw — the tool
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. drill — army training
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. degree — an amount
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. drill — a practice
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. degree — temperature
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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