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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 · lash · key · rest · fine · clip · perch · staff

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rest — a break
  5. fine — all right
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. key — in music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. clip — a video
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. staff — employees
  14. fine — high quality
  15. perch — the fish
  16. key — the most important part
  17. clip — for paper
  18. key — for a lock
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. staff — employees
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. clip — to cut

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