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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. degree — an amount
  7. file — a document
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. squash — to crush
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. squash — the sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pitch — completely
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rush — hurry

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