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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — of law
  5. spring — of water
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. spring — the season
  8. cell — in biology
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. clip — to cut
  13. court — for sport
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. clip — a video
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pass — a permit
  20. clip — for paper
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. cell — a phone
  23. court — of a king
  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