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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: clip · plane · patient · ball · tube · deal · racket · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. ball — a great time
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. clip — a video
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. tube — the underground
  17. clip — to cut
  18. ball — a dance
  19. tube — a container
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. tube — in a tire

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