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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 116 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: spring · face · patient · dip · pitcher · clip · pound · rush

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. face — part of the head
  3. clip — a video
  4. dip — to sink
  5. pound — a weight
  6. clip — for paper
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. spring — the season
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. spring — of water
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. patient — a sick person

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