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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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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: patient · racket · clip · last · bear · pit · mine · content

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. last — to go on
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pit — a hole
  9. last — finally
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — in a race
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. last — final
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. content — happy
  22. bear — the animal
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. racket — for tennis

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