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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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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: wind · dip · club · stand · patient · clip · bank · cold

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — not warm
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — a video
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. clip — for paper
  13. club — a group
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — for golf
  24. stand — to bear

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