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

Word bank: game · fork · file · pound · vault · patient

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pound — a weight
  4. game — a match
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. file — a tool
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people

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