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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. capital — a city
  3. present — there
  4. clip — to cut
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. track — a path
  7. last — final
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. clip — for paper
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. last — to go on
  13. bank — for money
  14. last — finally
  15. bank — for money
  16. clip — a video
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bank — of a river
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. present — the time now
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. present — a gift
  24. capital — 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