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

Word bank: straw · board · kid · pitch · ruler · patient

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pitch — completely
  10. board — to get on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. kid — child
  17. board — a committee
  18. ruler — for measuring

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