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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: bass · suit · patient · fork · mark · tear · spell · last

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. last — finally
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — final
  5. spell — magic
  6. suit — clothes
  7. spell — letters
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. fork — in a road
  12. suit — in cards
  13. bass — low music
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mark — a trace
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bass — the fish
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. last — to go on
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. suit — to fit

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