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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
468
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: dip · spell · patient · clip · staff · date · fork · present

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. present — a gift
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. staff — employees
  5. spell — a short time
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. date — the fruit
  10. clip — a video
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spell — letters
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. staff — a stick
  16. present — the time now
  17. fork — in a road
  18. present — there
  19. clip — to cut
  20. dip — to sink
  21. staff — employees
  22. spell — magic
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. clip — for paper

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