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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rock — music
  4. band — a ring
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. fall — the season
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — a video
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. band — a music group
  19. rock — a stone
  20. key — in music
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bass — the instrument

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