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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. clip — for paper
  4. season — in sport
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a great time
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bear — the animal
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. foot — a measure
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. clip — to cut
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bear — the animal

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