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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 116 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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. prune — to trim
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. land — ground
  9. saw — the tool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. land — to come down
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. net — for catching
  16. saw — the tool
  17. land — a country
  18. net — in sport
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. net — after costs
  21. bound — obliged
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bound — certain
  24. bowl — to roll

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