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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. tube — the underground
  4. field — for sport
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. tube — a container
  13. track — to keep track
  14. hand — help
  15. shower — rain
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bass — the fish
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. shower — to wash

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