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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bound — tied together
  3. rock — music
  4. pit — a hole
  5. face — to confront
  6. pit — in a race
  7. rock — a stone
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bound — obliged
  10. file — a tool
  11. bound — certain
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fall — to drop
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a line of people
  19. face — to point toward
  20. fall — the season
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. face — part of the head
  24. file — a document

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