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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. ground — the earth
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wake — a trail
  12. file — a tool
  13. kid — to tease
  14. file — a document
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. ground — a position
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. ground — crushed
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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