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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stem — to come from
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. straw — dry grass

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