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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. clip — a video
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pass — a permit
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. chest — a box
  9. drill — the tool
  10. can — to be able to
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. clip — to cut
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. can — a tin
  15. drill — army training
  16. wake — a trail
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — for paper
  19. can — a tin
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. chest — of your body
  24. dip — to sink

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