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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. row — a line
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. present — there
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. current — happening now
  10. cold — not warm
  11. row — to paddle
  12. vault — a safe
  13. fork — in a road
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. current — of water
  16. cold — an illness
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. present — the time now
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. current — electric
  23. deal — to handle
  24. patient — a sick person

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