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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. roll — a cake
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. row — to paddle
  6. craft — a skill
  7. row — a line
  8. face — to confront
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. face — part of the head
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. roll — a list
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cold — an illness
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cold — not warm
  20. craft — boats
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fork — to eat with

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