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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. mug — to rob
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. mug — a cup
  9. clip — to cut
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. clip — for paper
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. mug — a face
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a tool

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