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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 120 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rash — a series
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rock — music
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. land — ground
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — to come down
  22. tube — a container
  23. land — a country
  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