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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 116 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: patient · pitch · hand · fork · mark · ground · ball · object

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pitch — completely
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hand — help
  9. object — a thing
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ground — a position
  21. mark — a grade
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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