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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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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: dip · kid · row · file · patient · mate · pitch · stand

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitch — completely
  3. row — to paddle
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — a friend
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. row — a line
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mate — to breed
  17. stand — to bear
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. dip — to sink
  22. kid — child
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. stand — on your feet

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