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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  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. hand — part of the body
  2. fine — all right
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hand — help
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stand — to bear
  11. band — a ring
  12. clip — a video
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cap — a hat
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. band — a music group
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. fine — high quality
  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