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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 116 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: stick · court · straw · patient · tube · net · cell · bear

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. net — for catching
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. court — for sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tube — the underground
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cell — a phone
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. net — in sport
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — 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