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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. court — of law
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. last — finally
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — not warm
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. court — for sport
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. bass — the fish
  20. fork — in a road
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. file — a tool
  24. court — of a king

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