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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. craft — boats
  3. file — a tool
  4. rest — what's left
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. craft — a skill
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bat — the animal
  14. file — a document
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. rest — a break
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. march — music

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