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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: patient · tube · tear · file · field · rest · date · temple

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. file — a tool
  4. tube — a container
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — for sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. file — a document
  11. tube — the underground
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. tear — to rip
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. field — a subject
  16. rest — what's left
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. date — the fruit
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a line of people
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. field — farmland

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