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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fine — all right
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cap — a hat
  10. file — a tool
  11. fine — high quality
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. ground — a position
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bark — to shout
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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