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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. wound — an injury
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. saw — the tool
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. clip — a video
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. snap — to click
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — rain
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. clip — to cut
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. clip — for paper
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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