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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. clip — a video
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rush — hurry
  5. spell — a short time
  6. club — a group
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. saw — the tool
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spell — magic
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. club — for dancing
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stem — to come from
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spell — letters
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fan — to cool the air

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