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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. band — a ring
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — a video
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. band — a music group
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. saw — the tool
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. fine — high quality
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. fine — all right
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. clip — to cut
  24. dip — to sink

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