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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tear — from crying
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — from crying
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — a lid
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. chip — for betting
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chip — to eat
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. board — to get on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. board — a committee
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tear — to rip

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