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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a city
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. sharp — clever
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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