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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. march — the month
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — to rip
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. land — to come down
  9. march — music
  10. field — farmland
  11. kid — child
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. land — a country
  22. kid — to tease
  23. land — ground
  24. field — a subject

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