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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. mine — for digging
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. court — for sport
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. shower — rain
  12. field — farmland
  13. shower — to wash
  14. capital — a city
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. capital — money
  17. court — of a king
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. object — an aim
  22. court — of law
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — to protest

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