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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: kid · fork · mug · clip · patient · bound · shower · file

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fork — in a road
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kid — child
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mug — a cup
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. file — a document
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — obliged
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. shower — rain
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bound — certain
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. file — a tool
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. clip — to cut
  24. file — a line of people

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