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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 124 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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. file — a tool
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. file — a line of people
  4. capital — a city
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. tube — a container
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — for digging
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mate — to breed
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tube — the underground
  20. capital — money
  21. mate — a friend
  22. file — a document
  23. mate — a partner
  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