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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — to wash
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. shower — rain
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. spell — letters
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. spell — magic
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — a short time
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — moving air
  24. board — to get on

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