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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. wound — an injury
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. band — a music group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — for golf
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. club — a group
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a ring
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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