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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 116 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
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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: file · game · cold · drill · tube · mate · wake · patient

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. file — a document
  5. drill — army training
  6. file — a tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. mate — a friend
  11. file — a line of people
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cold — an illness
  15. game — wild animals
  16. drill — the tool
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. drill — a practice
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cold — not warm
  24. tube — a container

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