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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: foot · hand · patient · wake · season · vault · chip · clip

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. foot — a measure
  2. vault — a safe
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — for betting
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. clip — to cut
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wake — a trail
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. hand — in cards
  13. clip — a video
  14. hand — help
  15. season — in sport
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. season — of the year
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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