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

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mine — for digging
  4. key — the most important part
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. key — for a lock
  8. rock — music
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wound — an injury
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wound — an injury
  18. craft — a skill
  19. key — in music
  20. craft — boats
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rock — a stone
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. fork — in a road

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