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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 124 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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. clip — to cut
  3. present — there
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bound — certain
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bound — tied together
  11. content — happy
  12. scale — in music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. game — a match
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. present — the time now
  19. content — the amount
  20. scale — size or range
  21. tear — to rip
  22. present — a gift
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bound — obliged

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