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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.

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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: tear · clip · patient · vault · wind · bat · coach · season

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bat — the animal
  5. clip — a video
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. season — of the year
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. vault — a safe
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. season — in sport
  23. clip — for paper
  24. patient — a sick person

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