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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: jam · file · saw · rush · date · mark · spring · patient

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. spring — the season
  3. mark — a trace
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. date — the fruit
  6. file — a tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. mark — a grade
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. file — a document
  17. rush — hurry
  18. saw — the tool
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. spring — of water
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spring — a coil
  24. file — a line of people

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