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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: cabinet · clip · deal · fan · fork · patient · present · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. last — final
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. clip — for paper
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. present — the time now
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. deal — to handle
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. last — to go on
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. last — finally
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — there
  23. clip — a video
  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