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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. march — the month
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. file — a document
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. march — music
  12. can — a tin
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rash — hasty
  15. scale — size or range
  16. lie — to recline
  17. file — a tool
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. march — the month
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. scale — in music
  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