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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cold — not warm
  5. land — a country
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. firm — a company
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. firm — decided
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. land — ground
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pass — a permit
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. file — a tool
  20. rash — a series
  21. land — to come down
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. file — a document

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