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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. rest — a break
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — for paper
  8. swing — music
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pass — a permit
  13. swing — to play on
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. swing — in golf
  22. rest — what's left
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. rest — what's left

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