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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · patient · clip · race · chair · ground

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. race — the arms race
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. ground — the earth
  5. chair — a leader
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. clip — a video
  11. ground — a position
  12. race — a contest
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. ground — crushed
  16. race — humankind
  17. clip — for paper
  18. patient — calm and waiting

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