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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. tear — from crying
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fork — in a road
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bear — the animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bear — the animal
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — in biology
  20. tear — to rip
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wake — before a funeral

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