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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. file — a document
  3. fall — to drop
  4. file — a tool
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. sharp — clever
  7. land — ground
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. band — a music group
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. fall — the season
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rush — hurry
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. land — a country
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. fall — to drop
  24. land — to come down

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