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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. file — a tool
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. march — music
  5. file — a line of people
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rule — a law
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rule — government
  14. shower — to wash
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a document
  24. dip — to dunk

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