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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 120 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: coach · foot · cold · rush · wound · file · ball · patient

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. ball — a dance
  4. file — a line of people
  5. foot — a measure
  6. ball — a great time
  7. file — a tool
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. file — a document
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cold — not warm
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. rush — hurry
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. wound — an injury
  24. patient — a sick person

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