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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cap — a lid
  3. file — a document
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. net — after costs
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. net — for catching
  13. snap — to click
  14. file — a tool
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. net — in sport
  19. cap — a hat
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cap — of ice
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wake — a trail

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