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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. file — a document
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bound — tied together
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. file — a tool
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bound — certain
  15. snap — to click
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mine — for digging
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pit — a hole
  20. file — a line of people
  21. game — a match
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. present — the time now
  24. bound — obliged

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