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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. clip — to cut
  3. present — there
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. can — to be able to
  10. land — to come down
  11. can — a tin
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. clip — a video
  15. can — a tin
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — for paper
  19. land — a country
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — ground
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  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