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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. file — a tool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. ball — a dance
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rest — what's left
  11. file — a document
  12. row — a line
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ball — a great time
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rest — what's left
  17. file — a line of people
  18. row — to paddle

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