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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: present · patient · hand · band · fine · cue · lean · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fine — high quality
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cue — a signal
  6. band — a ring
  7. lean — thin
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. present — there
  10. hand — in cards
  11. present — a gift
  12. fine — all right
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cue — for pool
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. hand — help
  18. lean — to bend
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. present — the time now
  22. fork — in a road
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. band — a music group

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