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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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. land — to come down
  2. file — a tool
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. land — a country
  6. race — humankind
  7. land — ground
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. kid — to tease
  10. race — a contest
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rush — hurry
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. net — for catching
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. kid — child
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bowl — to roll
  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