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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kid — to tease
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — a subject
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. board — a committee
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. file — a line of people
  11. row — to paddle
  12. file — a tool
  13. roll — a cake
  14. bank — for money
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. row — a line
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. kid — child
  20. field — for sport
  21. file — a document
  22. bank — of a river
  23. field — farmland
  24. bank — for money

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