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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. key — the most important part
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. field — farmland
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. lean — to bend
  10. branch — a division
  11. lean — thin
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. key — for a lock
  14. field — for sport
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. field — a subject
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. key — in music
  24. nail — for a hammer

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