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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. object — to protest
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. row — a line
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pop — to visit
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. object — an aim
  10. bank — for money
  11. row — to paddle
  12. object — a thing
  13. field — farmland
  14. bank — for money
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. field — for sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pop — soda
  19. bank — of a river
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. net — for catching
  23. pop — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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