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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. pop — soda
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. clip — a video
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. court — of law
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bass — the fish
  19. court — of a king
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. court — for sport

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