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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 116 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. suit — clothes
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spell — a short time
  6. hand — in cards
  7. spell — magic
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — a video
  13. hand — help
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rest — a break
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — to fit
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — a hat
  21. spell — letters
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. patient — a sick person

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