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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. court — for sport
  3. mug — to rob
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. file — a document
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. file — a tool
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. mug — a cup
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mug — a face
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wind — moving air

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