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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. swing — in golf
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. swing — music
  12. shower — to wash
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. scale — size or range
  19. shower — rain
  20. swing — to play on
  21. fork — in a road
  22. scale — in music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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