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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. field — farmland
  4. swing — music
  5. staff — employees
  6. rush — hurry
  7. toast — bread
  8. swing — in golf
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. swing — to play on
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. sharp — clever
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. staff — a stick
  17. game — a match
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. field — for sport
  20. game — wild animals
  21. staff — employees
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. patient — a sick person
  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