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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. court — for sport
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. file — a document
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rule — government
  13. court — of a king
  14. pop — soda
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. court — of law
  17. file — a tool
  18. rule — a law
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — hurry
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pop — music
  24. calf — of the leg

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