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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cue — for pool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pop — music
  9. clip — a video
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hand — help
  16. pop — soda
  17. clip — to cut
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cue — a signal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fall — to drop

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