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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fork — in a road
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitch — completely
  14. band — a music group
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. craft — boats
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. game — a match

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