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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: tear · fork · scale · march · prune · saw · pass · patient

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. march — music
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tear — to rip
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. tear — from crying
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. scale — size or range
  24. saw — the tool

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