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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: ground · stick · content · coach · straw · file · pound · patient

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. ground — a position
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. content — the amount
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ground — the earth
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. content — happy
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. file — a tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. file — a document

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