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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. mug — a face
  3. net — after costs
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mug — a cup
  6. net — in sport
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mug — to rob
  10. hand — help
  11. lean — thin
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lean — to bend
  14. field — for sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hand — in cards
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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