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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · wound · file · fine · patient · ruler · coach · cold

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wound — an injury
  5. file — a document
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wound — an injury
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. file — a line of people
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. tube — the underground
  15. fine — high quality
  16. tube — a container
  17. file — a tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. fine — all right
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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