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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: clip · stem · bass · patient · fan · kick · bound · game

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. kick — in football
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bass — low music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bound — tied together
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. clip — a video
  18. bass — the fish
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kick — a thrill

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