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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. stand — to bear
  4. rash — a series
  5. file — a tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. file — a document
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bound — certain
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bound — tied together
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. rash — hasty
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. file — a line of people

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