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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. content — happy
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. face — to confront
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stem — to come from
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. key — the most important part
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wound — an injury
  15. board — a committee
  16. content — the amount
  17. wound — an injury
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. board — to get on
  20. face — to point toward
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — in music
  24. clip — for paper

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