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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. field — farmland
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. tube — the underground
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. field — a subject
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — not warm
  12. field — for sport
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. rule — a law
  22. tube — a container
  23. rule — government
  24. cold — an illness

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