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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. content — the amount
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — a match
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bark — to shout
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. content — happy
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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