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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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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: foot · snap · patient · toast · track · band · clip · wound

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to click
  5. band — a ring
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. track — to keep track
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. clip — for paper
  17. track — a path
  18. foot — a measure
  19. track — a song
  20. band — a music group
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. clip — a video
  24. foot — part of the body

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