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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ground — crushed
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cold — an illness
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. board — a committee
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chair — a leader
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — farmland
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. field — a subject
  23. board — to get on
  24. field — for 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