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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fine — high quality
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — to trim
  7. land — ground
  8. march — music
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. field — for sport
  11. march — the month
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. fine — all right
  15. tear — to rip
  16. land — a country
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. land — to come down
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — farmland
  24. prune — to trim

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