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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 preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. shower — to wash
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitch — completely
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — farmland
  13. wake — a trail
  14. field — for sport
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. hand — help
  17. shower — rain
  18. spring — the season
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hand — in cards
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. field — a subject
  24. wake — before a funeral

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