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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. field — a subject
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rock — music
  10. tube — a container
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — farmland
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. rock — a stone
  18. field — for sport

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