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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. last — finally
  3. lean — to bend
  4. field — a subject
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. field — farmland
  7. track — a path
  8. chest — of your body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. field — for sport
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. last — to go on
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chest — a box
  16. track — a song
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. track — to keep track
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. last — final
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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