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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. bank — for money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bank — for money
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. file — a tool
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. spring — the season
  17. rock — music
  18. spring — of water
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bank — of a river
  21. file — a document
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. file — a line of people
  24. patient — a sick person

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