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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. fork — in a road
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. clip — to cut
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. file — a line of people
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. row — a line
  20. file — a document
  21. rush — hurry
  22. file — a tool
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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