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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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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: deal · cold · patient · kid · file · wake · pass · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. fork — in a road
  9. kid — child
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. file — a document
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pass — a permit
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. file — a tool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cold — not warm
  23. deal — to handle
  24. patient — a sick person

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