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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: clip · board · file · row · patient · snap · fall · game

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. board — to get on
  3. file — a tool
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. fall — the season
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fall — to drop
  9. snap — to click
  10. file — a document
  11. game — wild animals
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. game — a match
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. row — a line
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. board — a committee
  19. row — to paddle
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. fall — to drop

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