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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: club · patient · mate · file · bank · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bank — for money
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. club — a group
  9. bank — for money
  10. kid — child
  11. file — a tool
  12. club — for golf
  13. kid — to tease
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. bank — of a river
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. club — for dancing

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