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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.

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: plane · pitcher · bound · clip · foot · patient · spring · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. clip — to cut
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bound — obliged
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bound — tied together
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bound — certain
  14. spring — of water
  15. clip — a video
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. foot — a measure
  18. wake — a trail
  19. plane — a tool
  20. spring — the season
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wake — before a funeral

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