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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. object — to protest
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — for sport
  6. mine — for digging
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rock — a stone
  9. object — an aim
  10. ground — a position
  11. object — a thing
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. field — farmland
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. hand — in cards
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. field — a subject
  22. rock — music
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mine — belonging to me

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