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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: squash · clip · degree · file · wind · patient · cabinet · stand

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. degree — from a university
  7. squash — to crush
  8. clip — for paper
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — moving air
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. clip — a video
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. degree — an amount
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wind — moving air
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wind — to turn a key

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