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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tear — from crying
  3. clip — a video
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cap — of ice
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. rest — what's left
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tear — from crying
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cap — a hat
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cap — a lid
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cabinet — ministers

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