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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 120 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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. stand — to bear
  4. file — a tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stock — goods
  8. kick — in football
  9. wound — an injury
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. file — a document
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. rush — hurry
  16. stock — shares
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. sharp — with an edge

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