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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 · fall · file · wake · leaves · court · rule · pitch

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. file — a line of people
  3. court — for sport
  4. pitch — completely
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. court — of law
  10. rule — government
  11. file — a tool
  12. rule — a law
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. court — of a king
  15. file — a document
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — the season
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. fall — to drop
  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