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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 · season · cabinet · wound · cue · last · content · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. content — the amount
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. season — in sport
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — final
  13. content — happy
  14. clip — to cut
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cue — a signal
  20. season — of the year
  21. cue — a hint
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cue — for pool

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