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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mark — a grade
  3. field — for sport
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — farmland
  6. clip — for paper
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bound — certain
  9. face — to confront
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. band — a ring
  16. face — part of the head
  17. clip — a video
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wind — moving air

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