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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bank — for money
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — a video
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — to eat
  11. clip — for paper
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. march — music
  17. bank — for money
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bank — of a river
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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