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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 116 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: board · wind · spring · snap · patient · mark · clip · pop

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mark — a trace
  4. spring — the season
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. clip — a video
  8. mark — a grade
  9. clip — to cut
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. spring — of water
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wind — moving air
  19. board — a committee
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pop — music

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