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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. mate — to breed
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lean — thin
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. field — farmland
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spring — the season
  17. mate — a partner
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitch — completely
  20. spring — of water
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. spring — a coil

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