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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — a video
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. swing — music
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. drill — army training
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. swing — to play on
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pound — a weight
  20. drill — the tool
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. drill — a practice
  24. race — the arms race

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