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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cue — a signal
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cue — a hint
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. game — a match
  11. present — a gift
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. cell — in biology
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pit — in a race

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