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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 116 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: cell · mine · straw · patient · pit · pound

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cell — in biology
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pit — in a race
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pit — a hole
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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