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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · patient · hand · face · shower · pound · clip · scale

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. clip — a video
  4. face — part of the head
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pound — a weight
  8. scale — size or range
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. clip — to cut
  16. shower — rain
  17. face — to confront
  18. scale — in music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. hand — part of the body

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