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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. chest — a box
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. chest — of your body
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. swing — music
  18. pit — a hole
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pit — in a race
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wake — a trail
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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