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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. court — of law
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. court — of a king
  7. shower — rain
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. pass — a permit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. last — to go on
  16. shower — to wash
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. last — finally
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — final
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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