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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pass — a permit
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. clip — a video
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. degree — temperature
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mine — for digging
  9. object — an aim
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. object — to protest
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. degree — from a university
  15. clip — for paper
  16. object — a thing
  17. clip — to cut
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — of a river
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. degree — an amount
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bank — for money

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