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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. clip — a video
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mate — a friend
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. clip — to cut
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — to fit
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. suit — clothes
  21. tube — a container
  22. foot — a measure
  23. mate — a partner
  24. clip — for paper

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