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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 116 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: wind · file · march · lean · pitcher · bay · patient · tear

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — music
  8. lean — to bend
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. march — the month
  13. tear — from crying
  14. file — a tool
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. lean — thin
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wind — to turn a key

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