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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: cold · clip · lash · patient · mug · racket · rest · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fork — in a road
  5. clip — a video
  6. cold — not warm
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rest — a break
  9. mug — a face
  10. clip — to cut
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. clip — for paper
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. mug — a cup
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. rest — what's left
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. mug — to rob
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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