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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 120 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. plane — a tool
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. lean — thin
  5. cold — not warm
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. object — an aim
  11. cold — an illness
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. object — a thing
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. lean — to bend
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. object — to protest
  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