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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bear — the animal
  10. club — a group
  11. hand — help
  12. bear — the animal
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. clip — for paper
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — for dancing
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. hand — in cards
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. club — for golf

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