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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.

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: patient · stick · craft · clip · bulb · row · mine · pitcher

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. row — a line
  4. mine — for digging
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bulb — for light
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bulb — for light
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. craft — a skill
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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