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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: plane · cold · firm · file · bowl · toast · tube · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. firm — steady
  4. plane — a tool
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. file — a document
  11. firm — a company
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cold — an illness
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. tube — a container
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cold — not warm
  23. firm — decided
  24. tube — in a tire

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