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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pit — a hole
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. sharp — clever
  9. band — a music group
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pit — in a race
  13. fork — in a road
  14. band — a ring
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. branch — a division
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. sharp — exactly

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