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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mark — a trace
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cell — in biology
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. clip — to cut

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