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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: wound · sharp · patient · kid · scale · dip · fork · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wound — an injury
  3. dip — to sink
  4. kid — to tease
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. fork — in a road
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wound — an injury
  11. scale — size or range
  12. kid — child
  13. clip — to cut
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. scale — in music
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. sharp — clever
  24. clip — for paper

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