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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. file — a document
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. track — a song
  5. bound — certain
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rush — hurry
  8. track — to keep track
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. file — a tool
  13. roll — a cake
  14. bound — obliged
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. clip — a video
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a line of people
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. track — a path
  22. roll — a list
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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