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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. charge — electricity
  3. wind — moving air
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. charge — a price
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. rush — hurry
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. charge — in control
  19. tube — the underground
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tube — in a tire

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