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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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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: rule · patient · last · court · file · bat · wind · rush

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. last — finally
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rule — a law
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. last — to go on
  9. bat — the animal
  10. court — for sport
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. last — final
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — of law
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. file — a document
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rule — government

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