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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: club · lean · fork · bore · fall · patient · nail · cold

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. club — for dancing
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bore — to tire
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. club — a group
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bore — to drill
  24. club — for golf

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