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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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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 · wake · rush · craft · chest · cabinet · pop · clip

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chest — a box
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. craft — boats
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chest — of your body
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pop — soda
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pop — music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rush — 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