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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: wake · straw · clip · mate · vault · patient · chip · kid

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. vault — a safe
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kid — child
  7. chip — for betting
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. mate — to breed
  10. chip — to eat
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kid — to tease
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. clip — a video
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — for paper
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. mate — a partner
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wake — a trail

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