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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — for paper
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. staff — a stick
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. squash — to crush
  12. march — the month
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. clip — to cut
  16. march — the month
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — a video
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. staff — employees
  23. march — music
  24. nail — for a hammer

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