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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lean — thin
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. kid — child
  6. mate — a partner
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. kid — to tease
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. mate — to breed
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — a video
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. lean — to bend

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