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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pop — soda
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mug — a face
  6. pop — to visit
  7. root — the cause
  8. pop — music
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. row — a line
  11. mug — to rob
  12. root — of a word
  13. file — a line of people
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. root — of a plant
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. row — to paddle
  20. game — a match
  21. file — a tool
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mug — a cup
  24. fork — in a road

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