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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spring — the season
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. current — of water
  7. spring — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. current — electric
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cell — a phone
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. field — a subject
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — an aim
  18. spring — a coil
  19. field — for sport
  20. object — a thing
  21. plane — a tool
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cell — in biology
  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