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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: clip · roll · spring · sharp · key · patient · bat · bore

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. clip — a video
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — the animal
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bore — to tire
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. clip — to cut
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. key — the most important part
  20. spring — the season
  21. bore — to drill
  22. key — in music
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. clip — for paper

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