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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. key — for a lock
  3. face — to point toward
  4. drill — army training
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. drill — the tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. branch — a division
  13. face — to confront
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. field — farmland
  16. key — in music
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. field — for sport
  20. drill — a practice
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. key — the most important part
  24. face — part of the head

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