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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: clip · patient · sharp · pitch · staff · cue · kid · cell

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cell — a phone
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kid — child
  8. clip — a video
  9. sharp — clever
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. staff — employees
  15. cell — in biology
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. staff — employees
  18. kid — to tease
  19. staff — a stick
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cue — a hint
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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