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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: patient · fork · spring · saw · cap · kick · jam · cold

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cap — of ice
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. kick — in football
  8. spring — of water
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cap — a lid
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spring — a coil
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. fork — in a road
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. spring — the season
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cap — a hat

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