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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pass — a permit
  3. rush — hurry
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bound — obliged
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. bark — to shout

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