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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. squash — the sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. tear — to rip
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ball — a great time
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. file — a tool
  17. swing — to play on
  18. file — a document
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. ball — a dance
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fan — a supporter

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