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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. file — a tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. firm — steady
  5. cold — not warm
  6. firm — decided
  7. club — for golf
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. firm — a company
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cold — an illness
  15. club — a group
  16. file — a document
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. pass — a permit
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pass — to spend time

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