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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: mug · patient · roll · wound · net · lean · charge · file

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. file — a document
  3. wound — an injury
  4. charge — electricity
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. net — in sport
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mug — a face
  12. roll — a list
  13. file — a tool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. roll — a cake
  18. lean — thin
  19. net — after costs
  20. charge — in control
  21. mug — a cup
  22. charge — a price
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. net — for catching

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