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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. saw — the tool
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. net — for catching
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spring — of water
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. spring — a coil
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. net — after costs
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. net — in sport
  23. spring — the season
  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