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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mug — a cup
  3. file — a document
  4. net — for catching
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. net — after costs
  7. file — a tool
  8. net — in sport
  9. march — music
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mug — to rob
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. land — to come down
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. hand — in cards
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mug — a face
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. march — the month
  24. file — a line of people

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