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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 · hand · stem · spell · swing · cabinet · clip · sharp

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. swing — music
  7. spell — letters
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. swing — in golf
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stem — to come from
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. swing — to play on
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. spell — magic
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cabinet — ministers

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