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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bound — certain
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rock — music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bear — the animal
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bound — tied together
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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