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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 124 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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ground — crushed
  3. band — a music group
  4. march — music
  5. field — for sport
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. bank — for money
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. tear — to rip
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. field — a subject
  16. band — a ring
  17. march — the month
  18. field — farmland
  19. bank — of a river
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bank — for money
  22. march — the month
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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