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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wake — a trail
  5. fine — all right
  6. kid — child
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. court — of a king
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. fine — high quality
  14. face — to confront
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. last — finally
  18. file — a document
  19. court — of law
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. court — for sport
  23. last — to go on
  24. wake — before a funeral

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