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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: swing · shower · patient · chair · wake · stick · clip · fine

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. clip — a video
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. swing — to play on
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. swing — in golf
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — high quality
  13. swing — music
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — rain
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. wake — a trail
  21. fine — all right
  22. chair — a leader
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. shower — to wash

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