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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. court — for sport
  3. spell — magic
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. press — to push
  7. spell — letters
  8. court — of law
  9. field — farmland
  10. perch — the fish
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. shower — to wash
  13. press — newspapers
  14. field — a subject
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — of a king
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — rain
  19. spell — a short time
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. stand — to bear
  22. press — a publisher
  23. field — for sport
  24. perch — for a bird

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