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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. court — for sport
  3. craft — boats
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fall — to drop
  7. swing — in golf
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. swing — to play on
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. net — after costs
  14. fall — to drop
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. field — farmland
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. swing — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — for sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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