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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 124 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mine — for digging
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. net — for catching
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mate — a partner
  8. march — music
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mate — to breed
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mate — a friend
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — the month
  15. net — after costs
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. field — a subject
  19. net — in sport
  20. date — the fruit
  21. hand — in cards
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. field — for sport
  24. hand — help

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