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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — an aim
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pound — a weight
  16. capital — a city
  17. clip — for paper
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. capital — money
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. pass — a permit
  22. squash — the sport
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pass — to spend time

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