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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ruler · cold · key · patient · craft · track · clip · bound

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. craft — a skill
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bound — obliged
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — a video
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. bound — certain
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. key — in music
  14. craft — boats
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bound — tied together
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. key — the most important part
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cold — the Cold War

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