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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: patient · bear · cell · wind · clip · toast

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bear — the animal
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. clip — a video
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. 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