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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. court — for sport
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. file — a document
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hand — help
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. file — a tool
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. file — a line of people
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. court — of law
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. hand — in cards
  21. court — of a king
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. patient — a sick person

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