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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. current — of water
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. ball — a great time
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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