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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. shower — to wash
  3. snap — to click
  4. field — for sport
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. game — wild animals
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. shower — rain
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. staff — employees
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. game — a match
  20. field — a subject
  21. band — a music group
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. field — farmland

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