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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. firm — a company
  4. tube — the underground
  5. ground — crushed
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. field — farmland
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. field — for sport
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — steady
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. field — a subject
  19. tube — a container
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. ground — a position
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. kick — in football
  24. net — in sport

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