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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: swing · bound · patient · bat · wake · cabinet · straw · cell

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bound — certain
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. swing — to play on
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bat — the animal
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cell — a phone
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bound — obliged
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bound — tied together
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wake — before a funeral

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