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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 120 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fork — in a road
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mine — for digging
  9. craft — boats
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. sharp — clever
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. tube — a container
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tube — the underground
  24. straw — a straw man

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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