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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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468
Word bank
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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rash — a series
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. snap — to click
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rash — hasty
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mate — a friend

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