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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. clip — a video
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. vault — a safe
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stem — to come from
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. fork — in a road
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pitcher — a jug

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