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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: safe · patient · cold · staff · ruler · clip

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. staff — a stick
  6. cold — an illness
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cold — not warm
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. clip — a video
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. clip — to cut

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