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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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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: clip · game · jam · straw · stand · toast · patient · wind

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. clip — for paper
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. toast — bread
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. wind — moving air
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stand — to bear
  18. game — wild animals
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. wind — to turn a key

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