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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 was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. clip — a video
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. key — in music
  5. spring — the season
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. clip — for paper
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. key — for a lock
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. key — the most important part
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. clip — to cut
  24. patient — a sick person

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