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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 120 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. field — farmland
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. wind — moving air
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. field — for sport
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. court — for sport
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. pitch — completely
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. field — a subject
  23. chair — a leader
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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