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

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. branch — a division
  5. degree — temperature
  6. field — farmland
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. degree — an amount
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. field — for sport
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. track — a path
  14. degree — from a university
  15. field — a subject
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bear — the animal

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