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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. march — the month
  3. current — of water
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. march — music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. current — happening now
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fork — in a road
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. current — electric
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. march — the month
  24. tube — a container

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