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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. pit — a hole
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. field — farmland
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. tear — to rip
  6. field — for sport
  7. root — of a word
  8. tear — from crying
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — from crying
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. root — the cause
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pit — in a race
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. ball — a great time
  20. root — of a plant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fall — the season
  23. ball — a dance
  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