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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mug — to rob
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. file — a tool
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bound — tied together
  7. vault — a safe
  8. file — a document
  9. bound — certain
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mug — a face
  13. cold — an illness
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. row — a line
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bound — obliged
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mug — a cup
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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