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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: race · row · lie · clip · staff · patient · band · snap

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. snap — to click
  5. band — a music group
  6. race — a contest
  7. staff — employees
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. race — humankind
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. race — the arms race
  13. row — a line
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. band — a ring
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. clip — for paper
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — a video
  23. row — to paddle
  24. staff — a stick

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