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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. object — an aim
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bat — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. object — to protest
  14. last — finally
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — a video
  18. fork — in a road
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. last — final
  23. pass — a permit
  24. bowl — to roll

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