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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: bark · fan · cabinet · clip · bass · patient · spell · mine

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — letters
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. spell — magic
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bass — low music
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spell — a short time

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