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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hand — help
  3. band — a ring
  4. shower — rain
  5. field — for sport
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mate — to breed
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. band — a music group
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mate — a partner
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. field — farmland
  20. shower — to wash
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bound — certain
  24. patient — a sick person

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