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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.

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: file · patient · chair · tube · ball · pound · clip · trunk

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pound — a weight
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. ball — a dance
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a document
  17. clip — a video
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. tube — a container
  24. chair — a leader

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