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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fan — a supporter
  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