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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. tube — a container
  3. fine — all right
  4. field — farmland
  5. swing — music
  6. field — for sport
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. tube — the underground
  11. swing — in golf
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. swing — to play on
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — a subject
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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