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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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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: rule · bark · patient · deal · staff · clip

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. clip — to cut
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. clip — a video
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. clip — for paper
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rule — a law
  17. bark — to shout
  18. rule — government

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