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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. charge — electricity
  4. row — to paddle
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. row — a line
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. file — a document
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fork — in a road
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — a price
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. fan — to cool the air

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