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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: pass · saw · court · patient · wake · straw · clip · root

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wake — a trail
  9. clip — for paper
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. root — of a plant
  12. clip — a video
  13. root — of a word
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pass — a permit
  18. saw — the tool
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. root — the cause
  21. clip — to cut
  22. saw — the tool
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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