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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 120 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mug — a face
  4. field — a subject
  5. march — the month
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. mug — to rob
  8. field — farmland
  9. firm — decided
  10. race — a contest
  11. march — the month
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — a company
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. field — for sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. race — the arms race
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. mug — a cup
  20. ball — a dance
  21. march — music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. race — humankind

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