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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. file — a document
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bank — for money
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bank — for money
  9. deal — to handle
  10. cold — not warm
  11. game — wild animals
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. file — a tool
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. game — a match
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — an agreement

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