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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: clip · swing · sharp · club · patient · fall · suit · hand

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. swing — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. suit — to fit
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — for paper
  8. suit — clothes
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — to play on
  14. club — for golf
  15. swing — in golf
  16. hand — help
  17. club — for dancing
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. sharp — clever
  20. suit — in cards
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. patient — a sick person

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