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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. toast — bread
  3. last — final
  4. ground — the earth
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. field — farmland
  7. ground — crushed
  8. last — finally
  9. field — a subject
  10. race — a contest
  11. ground — a position
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. last — to go on
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. field — for sport
  22. pop — music
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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