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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: jam · patient · rule · clip · snap · rash · kid · straw

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. snap — to click
  3. rule — government
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. clip — a video
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. kid — child
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rash — a series
  17. kid — to tease
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rash — hasty
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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