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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. clip — a video
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stem — to come from
  5. clip — to cut
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fine — all right
  9. march — the month
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — high quality
  15. march — the month
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. clip — for paper
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. march — music
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. face — to confront
  24. patient — a sick person

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