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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cap — a lid
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. toast — bread
  5. game — a match
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mine — for digging
  9. sharp — clever
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cap — a hat
  14. game — wild animals
  15. squash — the sport
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. file — a document
  24. toast — a drink to someone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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