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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rash — hasty
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. land — ground
  5. saw — the tool
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bulb — for light
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bulb — for light
  12. press — newspapers
  13. saw — the tool
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. press — to push
  18. land — a country
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. land — to come down
  22. rash — a series
  23. patient — a sick person
  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