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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bound — certain
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. roll — a cake
  7. tube — a container
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — the animal
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. scale — in music
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. fork — in a road
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bound — tied together
  23. roll — a list
  24. scale — for weighing

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