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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. file — a line of people
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. board — a committee
  5. pass — a permit
  6. clip — for paper
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. mine — for digging
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. file — a tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. clip — to cut
  14. hand — help
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. board — to get on
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. clip — a video
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. file — a document

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