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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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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. land — to come down
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. clip — for paper
  6. land — a country
  7. spell — letters
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. stand — to bear
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. land — ground
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. spell — magic
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. clip — a video
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. pound — a weight
  23. spell — a short time
  24. clip — to cut

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