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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: cabinet · patient · foot · straw · stick · hand · tear · press

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hand — help
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. press — a publisher
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. foot — a measure
  14. press — newspapers
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — in cards
  17. press — to push
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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