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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — for sport
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. field — farmland
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. field — a subject
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. spring — the season
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spring — of water

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