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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stock — goods
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cap — a hat
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. stock — shares
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. file — a document
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. dip — to sink
  24. patient — a sick person

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