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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 124 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. dip — to sink
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. clip — a video
  15. saw — the tool
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. capital — a city
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bat — the animal
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. patient — a sick person

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