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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. tube — a container
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rush — hurry
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. field — farmland
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. field — for sport
  13. stand — to bear
  14. field — a subject
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. craft — a skill
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. key — in music
  22. craft — boats
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tube — the underground

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