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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.

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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. present — a gift
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. land — to come down
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mate — a friend
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. present — there
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. present — the time now
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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