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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bound — certain
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bound — tied together
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. march — music
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — a video
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bound — obliged

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