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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: calf · file · fork · wave · pitcher · court · patient · kid

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. court — for sport
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kid — child
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. file — a tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. court — of law
  14. file — a document
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wave — of the sea

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