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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. field — a subject
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. object — to protest
  5. field — farmland
  6. capital — a city
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. capital — money
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. scale — in music
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. net — for catching
  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