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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pop — music
  7. clip — a video
  8. pop — soda
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — newspapers
  11. drill — the tool
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. tear — from crying
  15. press — to push
  16. drill — army training
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. mark — a grade
  19. clip — to cut
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pop — to visit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. drill — a practice

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