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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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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: ground · coach · kick · last · sharp · fork · patient · straw

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ground — a position
  7. fork — in a road
  8. ground — crushed
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. last — final
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. ground — the earth
  17. kick — in football
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. last — finally
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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