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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: patient · fork · net · chest · cue · row · lie · hand

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chest — a box
  4. net — in sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cue — a signal
  7. net — after costs
  8. hand — help
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. net — for catching
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cue — for pool
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. row — a line
  15. hand — in cards
  16. lie — to recline
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cue — a hint
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. fork — in a road

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