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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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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: fork · deal · wake · hand · saw · clip · land · patient

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. land — to come down
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wake — a trail
  11. clip — for paper
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. land — ground
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. saw — the tool
  20. clip — a video
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. hand — help

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