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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mine — for digging
  3. field — farmland
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rest — a break
  7. field — for sport
  8. firm — steady
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cap — a hat
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. field — a subject
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. firm — a company
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. sharp — clever
  22. firm — decided
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. patient — a sick person

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