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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: swing · tear · patient · cell · file · bound · craft · pass

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pass — a permit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bound — certain
  6. cell — in biology
  7. swing — music
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — boats
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. swing — in golf
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bound — tied together
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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