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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. net — for catching
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a tool
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. net — after costs
  18. file — a document
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. kid — child
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. net — in sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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