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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: content · coach · squash · row · rush · bat · rule · patient

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. squash — to crush
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. squash — the sport
  10. rule — a law
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rule — government
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rush — hurry
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. content — the amount
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. content — happy
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — the animal

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