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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. present — there
  5. bat — the animal
  6. drill — a practice
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. kid — child
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. present — the time now
  17. deal — to handle
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — final
  23. present — a gift
  24. drill — army training

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