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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 120 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. tear — from crying
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. tear — to rip
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mate — a friend
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. present — a gift
  11. tear — from crying
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. rash — a series
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rash — hasty
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. mate — a partner

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