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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. race — a contest
  5. tear — from crying
  6. last — finally
  7. stock — goods
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pit — in a race
  10. last — to go on
  11. race — humankind
  12. pit — a hole
  13. last — final
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. field — farmland
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stock — shares
  19. bark — to shout
  20. tear — to rip
  21. field — for sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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