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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: ball · patient · arm · nail · clip · pass · lean · snap

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pass — a permit
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lean — to bend
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. snap — to click
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ball — a great time
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. lean — thin
  21. clip — a video
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. arm — a part of something

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