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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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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 · stick · tear · game · file · toast · present · mark

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a match
  4. tear — from crying
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tear — to rip
  8. present — there
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. file — a line of people
  11. present — a gift
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. file — a document
  16. mark — a trace
  17. game — wild animals
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. present — the time now
  21. mark — a grade
  22. file — a tool
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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