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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — farmland
  4. hand — help
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. field — for sport
  8. cell — a phone
  9. mark — a grade
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. mark — a trace
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. deal — to handle
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cell — in biology
  24. court — of a king

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