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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. press — a publisher
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. press — to push
  19. spring — a coil
  20. press — newspapers
  21. chip — for betting
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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