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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. file — a tool
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rest — what's left
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rest — what's left
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. file — a document
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rest — a break
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bass — the fish
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. fork — in a road
  22. file — a line of people
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. row — to paddle

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