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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. clip — a video
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bat — the animal
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stock — goods
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. shower — rain
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. court — for sport
  19. stock — shares
  20. clip — to cut
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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