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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. field — a subject
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. band — a music group
  7. content — the amount
  8. tear — from crying
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. band — a ring
  11. land — a country
  12. field — for sport
  13. can — to be able to
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. field — farmland
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. can — a tin
  20. content — happy
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. content — videos and posts

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