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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. clip — to cut
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. sharp — clever
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. clip — a video
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. can — to be able to
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. can — a tin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bark — to shout
  22. clip — for paper
  23. can — a tin
  24. cold — not warm

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