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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 · hand · patient · rash · wound · staff · stick · nail

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. staff — employees
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. staff — employees
  5. wound — an injury
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. hand — help
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wound — an injury
  11. staff — a stick
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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