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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. snap — to click
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. field — a subject
  14. chair — a leader
  15. field — farmland
  16. clip — a video
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. clip — for paper
  20. field — for sport
  21. mark — a grade
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lash — to lash out

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