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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — in cards
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. clip — a video
  5. object — an aim
  6. clip — to cut
  7. root — of a word
  8. last — finally
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. clip — for paper
  13. object — a thing
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. object — to protest
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. root — the cause
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. root — of a plant
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. racket — for tennis

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