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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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468
Word bank
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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cell — in biology
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. snap — to click
  14. clip — a video
  15. tube — the underground
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pass — a permit
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. tube — a container
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cell — a phone

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