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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: court · patient · last · jam · row · file · foot · race

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. foot — a measure
  3. file — a line of people
  4. row — to paddle
  5. race — a contest
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. race — the arms race
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. file — a tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. court — of a king
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. race — humankind
  16. row — a line
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. court — of law
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. court — for sport
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. file — a document
  24. row — a quarrel

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