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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. field — a subject
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — for sport
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. stem — to come from
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. board — to get on
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. field — farmland
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. board — a committee
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — not warm
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. board — a flat piece

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