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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cap — a lid
  4. object — a thing
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cell — in biology
  9. object — to protest
  10. cell — a phone
  11. object — an aim
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cap — a hat
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — farmland
  16. cap — of ice
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. drill — army training

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