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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pass — a permit
  3. field — a subject
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — for sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. content — the amount
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. content — happy
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. field — farmland
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pass — to spend time

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