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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rush — hurry
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wax — to grow
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. kick — in football
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. spring — the season
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. spring — a coil
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stem — to come from
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. clip — a video
  24. spring — of water

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