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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: fork · patient · mark · swing · clip · season · spell · tube

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. swing — in golf
  4. spell — letters
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. tube — the underground
  7. spell — magic
  8. tube — a container
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. swing — music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fork — in a road
  15. spell — a short time
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. season — in sport
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mark — a trace
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mark — a grade
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. fork — a garden tool

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