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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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Word bank
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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: patient · mate · can · file · dip · bat · fan · rock

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rock — music
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. can — a tin
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mate — a partner
  20. can — a tin
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rock — a stone
  23. file — a document
  24. patient — a sick person

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