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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: wound · patient · squash · hand · dip · cold · nail · clip

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. clip — for paper
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to sink
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wound — an injury
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — an illness
  14. squash — the sport
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. hand — help
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. clip — a video
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wound — an injury

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