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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. file — a tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. shower — rain
  10. scale — size or range
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — a group
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. scale — in music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. file — a line of people
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. file — a document
  20. club — for golf
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. chair — a leader
  24. row — a line

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