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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stand — to bear
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ball — a great time
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. spring — the season
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. clip — a video
  18. rush — hurry
  19. branch — a division
  20. spring — of water
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. ball — a round shape

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