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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.

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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: fork · pass · patient · bat · foot · kid · fall · row

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. row — a line
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. pass — a permit
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. row — to paddle

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