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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: field · patient · clip · hide · cue · sharp · key · shower

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. clip — a video
  4. cue — a hint
  5. field — for sport
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. clip — for paper
  8. field — farmland
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — rain
  11. key — for a lock
  12. shower — to wash
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — a subject
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cue — for pool
  23. clip — to cut
  24. sharp — clever

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