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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: march · fork · patient · chest · club · squash

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — in a road
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. club — for golf
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. march — the month
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. club — a group
  9. march — the month
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. club — for dancing
  15. march — music
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable

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