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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. field — farmland
  2. spell — letters
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bulb — for light
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. race — a contest
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. field — for sport
  10. race — the arms race
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bank — of a river
  13. field — a subject
  14. bulb — for light
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for money
  19. spell — magic
  20. race — humankind
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spell — a short time
  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