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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · root · patient · fork · spring · wound

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. root — of a word
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — in a road
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. root — of a plant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. root — the cause

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