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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. file — a tool
  4. field — for sport
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bound — certain
  7. firm — steady
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bound — obliged
  10. file — a document
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. field — farmland
  13. rash — a series
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wind — moving air
  16. field — a subject
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. firm — decided
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wake — a trail
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wind — moving air

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