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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: bass · deal · chair · tear · land · patient · ball · fork

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. land — a country
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. land — to come down
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. ball — a dance
  9. chair — a leader
  10. deal — to handle
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bass — the fish
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. land — ground

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