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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: present · patient · bark · fork · mouse · file · chest · racket

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. bark — to shout
  4. file — a line of people
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. file — a tool
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. file — a document
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. present — there
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chest — of your body
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. fork — in a road
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. racket — for tennis

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