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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — farmland
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. field — a subject
  6. kid — child
  7. key — the most important part
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spring — the season
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. key — in music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. key — for a lock
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kick — in football
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kid — to tease

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