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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bank — of a river
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pop — music
  5. bank — for money
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. clip — a video
  12. pop — soda
  13. snap — to click
  14. clip — for paper
  15. saw — the tool
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bank — for money
  23. pop — to visit
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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