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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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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: wake · bay · object · field · snap · fall · patient · clip

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. clip — for paper
  3. field — for sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. clip — a video
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. object — a thing
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. object — an aim
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fall — the season
  14. field — a subject
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. object — to protest
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to click
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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