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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pass — a permit
  3. band — a music group
  4. dip — to sink
  5. band — a ring
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. degree — temperature
  9. clip — a video
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — from a university
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. clip — to cut
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. prune — the fruit

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