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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: land · arm · kid · clip · plane · coach · wind · patient

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. land — a country
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — for paper
  6. land — to come down
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. clip — to cut
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kid — to tease
  14. plane — a tool
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. land — ground
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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