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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: face · toast · file · firm · kid · row · pound · patient

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. row — a line
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. firm — steady
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. file — a document
  12. firm — decided
  13. file — a tool
  14. kid — child
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. file — a line of people
  17. firm — a company
  18. pound — a weight
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. face — part of the head

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