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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: face · patient · date · rock · fine · clip · snap · coach

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. snap — to click
  3. face — part of the head
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. face — to point toward
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fine — high quality
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rock — music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — all right
  18. face — to confront
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. clip — a video
  24. rock — a stone

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