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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: hand · patient · fork · stick · plane · racket · roll · arm

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. hand — in cards
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. roll — a cake
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. roll — a list
  22. hand — help
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fork — in a road

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