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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. mate — a friend
  4. clip — to cut
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. clip — a video
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fork — in a road
  12. degree — an amount
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wake — a trail
  15. board — a committee
  16. land — to come down
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. land — a country
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. board — to get on
  22. clip — for paper
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. mate — to breed

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