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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: fan · bat · face · cue · patient · squash · hand · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. face — to confront
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. clip — a video
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. face — part of the head
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cue — a hint
  14. squash — to crush
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — the sport
  18. hand — help
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cue — for pool
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cue — a signal

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