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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wake — a trail
  7. spring — the season
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. tube — a container
  10. ball — a dance
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. file — a document
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. file — a tool
  17. spring — of water
  18. kick — in football
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tube — the underground
  22. file — a line of people
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. ball — a round shape

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