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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · clip · degree · mug · patient · nail · leaves · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — temperature
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mug — to rob
  6. clip — for paper
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — a cup
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. degree — from a university
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. clip — a video
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — to go away

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