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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: sharp · chest · game · bulb · present · patient · fork · swing

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. present — a gift
  3. game — wild animals
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. swing — music
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chest — a box
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fork — in a road
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. present — the time now
  17. game — a match
  18. bulb — for light
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. present — there
  23. swing — to play on
  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