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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. patient — a sick person
  2. file — a tool
  3. race — humankind
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. rule — government
  9. rock — music
  10. lean — to bend
  11. scale — in music
  12. chair — a leader
  13. race — the arms race
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rock — a stone
  16. race — a contest
  17. file — a line of people
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. rule — a law
  22. scale — size or range
  23. patient — a sick person
  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