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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. spring — the season
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bore — to tire
  12. spring — of water
  13. clip — for paper
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fine — high quality
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. pound — a weight
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. clip — a video
  23. fine — all right
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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