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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. staff — employees
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. can — to be able to
  8. field — a subject
  9. object — an aim
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. rush — hurry
  13. object — a thing
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. field — for sport
  16. game — a match
  17. object — to protest
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — farmland
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. staff — a stick
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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