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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. drill — army training
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. band — a ring
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bore — to drill
  11. field — for sport
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. date — the fruit
  16. drill — the tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. drill — a practice
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bore — to tire
  23. patient — a sick person
  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