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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 · straw · track · row · deal · cold · patient · cabinet

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. track — a song
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. swing — music
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cold — an illness
  12. swing — to play on
  13. deal — to handle
  14. track — a path
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cold — not warm
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cabinet — ministers

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