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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. lean — thin
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. row — a line
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. game — wild animals
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. row — to paddle
  17. game — a match
  18. lean — to bend
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tube — the underground
  23. face — part of the head
  24. tube — a container

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