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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: racket · patient · current · spell · clip · rest · tear · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. current — electric
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. clip — a video
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rest — a break
  8. spell — magic
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. current — of water
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rest — what's left
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — for paper
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. current — happening now
  18. spell — a short time
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. spell — letters
  22. clip — to cut
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rest — what's left

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