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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pit — in a race
  4. spell — magic
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. current — of water
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. current — electric
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. current — happening now
  23. net — in sport
  24. cell — in biology

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