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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. court — for sport
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — a subject
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. face — to confront
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. field — for sport
  24. face — to point toward

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