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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. rock — music
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. sharp — clever
  6. row — a line
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. field — a subject
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. field — farmland
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rock — a stone
  15. row — to paddle
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. field — for sport

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