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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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. wake — before a funeral
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. hand — in cards
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. stem — to come from
  12. hand — help
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. game — a match
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cabinet — ministers

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