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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. track — to keep track
  8. field — for sport
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pass — a permit
  14. field — farmland
  15. track — a song
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. dip — to sink
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. field — a subject
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cell — in biology

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