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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. land — ground
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bound — tied together
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tube — a container
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bound — obliged
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bound — certain
  11. snap — to click
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bass — low music
  14. tube — the underground
  15. land — a country
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. land — to come down
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. clip — a video
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wax — to grow

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