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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: bat · capital · game · stick · fork · mouse · hand · patient

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. capital — a city
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. game — a match
  10. capital — money
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. fork — in a road
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bat — the animal
  21. hand — help
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. game — wild animals

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