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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bank — of a river
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bank — for money
  9. ground — crushed
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — a subject
  18. file — a document
  19. field — farmland
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bank — for money
  23. ground — a position
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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