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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — a country
  4. object — to protest
  5. land — to come down
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. object — an aim
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mark — a grade
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. clip — to cut
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mark — a trace
  18. clip — for paper
  19. land — ground
  20. vault — a safe
  21. object — a thing
  22. hand — in cards
  23. clip — a video
  24. plane — a tool

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