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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: patient · tear · club · hand · straw · vault · season · pound

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. hand — in cards
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pound — a weight
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. club — a group
  8. tear — from crying
  9. club — for dancing
  10. season — of the year
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. season — in sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. hand — help
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. tear — to rip
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. vault — a safe
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. season — to add flavour

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