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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. staff — employees
  3. pit — in a race
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. hand — help
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. present — the time now
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. staff — a stick
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. staff — employees
  17. present — a gift
  18. hand — in cards
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. present — there
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — part of the body

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