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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rush — hurry
  5. vault — a safe
  6. content — happy
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. field — for sport
  12. content — the amount
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. sharp — clever
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. chest — a box
  24. sharp — with an edge

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