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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bear · pitcher · ground · row · fork · cap · rash

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. ground — a position
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. ground — crushed
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cap — of ice
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. fork — in a road
  19. row — a line
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cap — a hat
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rash — a series

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