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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. clip — a video
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — to tease
  11. last — finally
  12. staff — employees
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. clip — for paper
  15. kid — child
  16. present — there
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. vault — a safe
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — all right
  24. present — the time now

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