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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. field — for sport
  4. bear — the animal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. clip — a video
  7. root — of a word
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. root — of a plant
  10. field — a subject
  11. root — the cause
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. rush — hurry
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mine — for digging
  24. deal — an agreement

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