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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: bat · lean · jam · last · straw · wind · pound · patient

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. last — to go on
  5. pound — a weight
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. last — final
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. last — finally
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. lean — to bend
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wind — moving air
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — the animal

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