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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: hand · file · board · key · patient · nail · land · clip

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. key — the most important part
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. board — to get on
  8. file — a tool
  9. key — in music
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. clip — to cut
  12. file — a document
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. board — a committee
  15. file — a line of people
  16. land — ground
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. land — a country
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. key — for a lock

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