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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. swing — to play on
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bat — the animal
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — for paper
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. dip — to sink
  21. foot — a measure
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. clip — a video

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