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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. mine — for digging
  9. file — a document
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. clip — to cut
  12. file — a line of people
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a tool
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. branch — a division
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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