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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wake — a trail
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rest — what's left
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. court — for sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. court — of a king
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. clip — a video
  16. rest — a break
  17. court — of law
  18. rest — what's left

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