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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. spring — the season
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — rain
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. spring — a coil
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. clip — to cut
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spring — of water
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rock — music
  21. rush — hurry
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rock — a stone

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