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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pop — music
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — money
  6. face — part of the head
  7. chest — a box
  8. ground — a position
  9. pop — soda
  10. chest — of your body
  11. face — to point toward
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pop — to visit
  14. squash — the sport
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. face — to confront
  17. capital — a city
  18. squash — to crush
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a document
  21. ground — the earth
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. file — a tool
  24. ground — crushed

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