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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. land — ground
  5. pop — soda
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pop — to visit
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. snap — to click
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — a country
  22. pop — music
  23. land — to come down
  24. calf — a young animal

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