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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cold — not warm
  5. object — a thing
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. perch — the fish
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. object — to protest
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. object — an aim
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tube — a container
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. cold — an illness
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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