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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. chest — a box
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. spring — the season
  5. mate — a partner
  6. rock — music
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spring — a coil
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chest — of your body
  11. clip — a video
  12. mate — to breed
  13. chest — of your body
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. mate — a friend
  16. rock — a stone
  17. clip — to cut
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. saw — the tool
  21. clip — for paper
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. saw — the tool
  24. spring — of water

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