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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · clip · last · staff · patient · safe · swing · prune

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. shower — to wash
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. staff — employees
  6. clip — to cut
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. prune — to trim
  9. swing — in golf
  10. clip — a video
  11. last — finally
  12. clip — for paper
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. swing — to play on
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. shower — rain
  19. prune — to trim
  20. staff — a stick
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. swing — music
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — final

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