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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · patient · kid · face · racket · fork

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. 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. racket — for tennis
  2. face — to point toward
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kid — child
  8. tear — to rip
  9. face — to confront
  10. fork — in a road
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. tear — from crying
  18. 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