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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — farmland
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — a subject
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. field — for sport
  9. bass — the fish
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. tear — to rip
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fine — high quality
  19. tear — from crying
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. club — for golf
  22. tear — from crying
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bass — the instrument

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