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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. object — an aim
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bulb — for light
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. staff — employees
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — a box
  15. field — farmland
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. staff — employees
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. chest — of your body
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bulb — for light

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