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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. band — a ring
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. field — farmland
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. press — newspapers
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. object — an aim
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. press — to push
  18. object — to protest
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. capital — a city
  21. press — a publisher
  22. band — a music group
  23. capital — money
  24. object — a thing

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