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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cap — of ice
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spell — magic
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cap — a lid
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chip — to eat
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. spell — letters
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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