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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 116 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: fork · scale · sharp · wound · snap · patient · rest · mine

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rest — what's left
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. scale — in music
  10. snap — to click
  11. rest — a break
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rest — what's left
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fork — in a road
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. sharp — clever

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