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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — all right
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. file — a tool
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. rest — a break
  13. net — after costs
  14. file — a line of people
  15. net — in sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — for catching
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. rest — what's left
  24. file — a document

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