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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. file — a line of people
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hand — in cards
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bound — tied together
  10. tear — to rip
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. fine — high quality
  15. file — a document
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. file — a tool
  20. fine — all right
  21. hand — help
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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