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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 120 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bear — the animal
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rash — a series
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. degree — temperature
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rash — hasty
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — farmland
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. degree — an amount
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — for sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. deal — to handle
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bear — the animal

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