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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bound — tied together
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. file — a document
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — high quality
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bound — certain
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. fine — all right
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bound — obliged
  18. squash — to crush
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a tool
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. kid — child
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rush — a thrill

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