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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. club — for golf
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. last — final
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. club — for dancing
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. spring — of water
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — finally
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. club — a group
  24. clip — a video

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