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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: capital · present · pound · wound · clip · patient

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. present — there
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. capital — a city
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. present — the time now
  15. clip — for paper
  16. present — a gift
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter

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