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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. face — part of the head
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. track — a path
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. face — to confront
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — in a road
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. spring — a coil
  19. track — a song
  20. snap — to click
  21. spring — of water
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. face — to point toward
  24. track — to keep track

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