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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. net — for catching
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. firm — steady
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. net — after costs
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. firm — a company
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. net — in sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. firm — decided

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