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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. land — to come down
  3. file — a document
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. face — to confront
  7. spell — letters
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. scale — size or range
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. file — a tool
  13. spell — magic
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. file — a line of people
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. spell — a short time
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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