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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bore — to drill
  7. object — a thing
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. wound — an injury
  11. object — an aim
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bore — to tire
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. mark — a grade
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. mark — a trace
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. object — to protest
  24. wound — an injury

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