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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 120 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: plane · wave · patient · straw · season · saw · hand · last

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. hand — in cards
  4. last — finally
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. hand — help
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. season — in sport
  10. saw — the tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. last — to go on
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. last — final
  17. season — of the year
  18. plane — a tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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