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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · patient · file · ruler · chest · land

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — ground
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. file — a tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. file — a document
  10. chest — of your body
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — of your body
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chest — a box
  15. land — a country
  16. file — a line of people
  17. tear — to rip
  18. ruler — for measuring

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