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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. staff — employees
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wake — a trail
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. staff — a stick
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — farmland
  21. fork — in a road
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. kick — in football

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