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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: field · mug · straw · wake · patient · dip · wound · cabinet

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. 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. dip — to dunk
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. field — farmland
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mug — to rob
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. dip — to sink
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. mug — a face
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. mug — a cup
  18. field — a subject
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. field — for sport
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. 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