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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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 — to hurry
  2. field — farmland
  3. firm — a company
  4. field — a subject
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. firm — steady
  8. file — a tool
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. file — a line of people
  11. field — for sport
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rash — a series
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. file — a document
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. firm — decided
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. row — a line
  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