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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rest — what's left
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — to bear
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. rest — what's left
  18. file — a tool
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. pound — a weight
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. racket — a loud noise

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