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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a list
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fork — in a road
  8. mug — a face
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. mug — to rob
  14. roll — a cake
  15. mug — a cup
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. field — for sport
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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