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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. tube — the underground
  3. file — a tool
  4. stock — shares
  5. field — farmland
  6. stock — goods
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tube — a container
  9. file — a line of people
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ground — crushed
  15. file — a document
  16. staff — employees
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. ground — a position
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — the earth
  23. field — for sport
  24. tube — in a tire

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