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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: fork · dip · staff · hand · scale · cold · patient · trunk

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. scale — size or range
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. hand — in cards
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. staff — employees
  15. dip — to sink
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. staff — a stick
  18. scale — in music
  19. fork — in a road
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. hand — help
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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