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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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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: arm · club · rule · patient · degree · fork · bat · date

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fork — in a road
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. degree — from a university
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rule — government
  16. date — the fruit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bat — the animal
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. fork — to eat with

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