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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. row — a line
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. band — a music group
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fine — all right
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. chest — of your body
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. file — a tool
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. band — a ring
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fine — high quality
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. file — a document

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