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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tube — the underground
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rest — what's left
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. wind — moving air
  12. file — a line of people
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. tube — a container
  15. file — a document
  16. craft — a skill
  17. file — a tool
  18. rest — a break
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rest — what's left
  21. craft — boats
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. sharp — with an edge

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