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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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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: mark · patient · bowl · clip · dip · kid · track · rest

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. clip — a video
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. mark — a trace
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mark — a grade
  12. rest — what's left
  13. track — a song
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. track — to keep track
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rest — what's left
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. track — a path
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rest — a break

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