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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. field — for sport
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. row — to paddle
  6. key — the most important part
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. march — music
  11. pit — a hole
  12. capital — a city
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. row — a line
  17. pit — in a race
  18. key — in music
  19. field — farmland
  20. capital — money
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. field — a subject

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