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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. current — of water
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. present — the time now
  7. clip — to cut
  8. band — a music group
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. clip — a video
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. current — electric
  16. wake — a trail
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. present — there
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. band — a ring
  22. clip — for paper
  23. present — a gift
  24. current — happening now

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