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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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 — a sick person
  2. clip — a video
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. branch — a division
  5. spell — letters
  6. cell — in biology
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. chest — a box
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. game — a match
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. chest — of your body
  23. branch — of a bank
  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