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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. file — a document
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rule — a law
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. file — a tool
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bat — the animal
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cell — in biology
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rule — government

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