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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. clip — for paper
  3. spell — magic
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pop — soda
  6. clip — a video
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. spell — letters
  9. tear — from crying
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pop — to visit
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pit — a hole
  17. hand — help
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pop — music
  21. object — to protest
  22. clip — to cut
  23. object — an aim
  24. object — a thing

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