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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. field — for sport
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cap — a lid
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ground — the earth
  8. field — farmland
  9. cap — of ice
  10. board — a committee
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ground — a position
  13. field — a subject
  14. branch — a division
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cap — a hat
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. board — to get on
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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