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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. fork — in a road
  5. field — a subject
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. stem — to come from
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. row — a line

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