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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.

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: saw · suit · craft · clip · patient · board · cold · court

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. craft — a skill
  4. board — a committee
  5. clip — a video
  6. court — of law
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cold — an illness
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. suit — clothes
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. saw — the tool
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. suit — in cards
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cold — not warm
  19. court — for sport
  20. suit — to fit
  21. board — to get on
  22. craft — boats
  23. court — of a king
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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