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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cell — a phone
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wound — an injury
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. swing — in golf
  8. field — a subject
  9. swing — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cell — in biology
  13. field — farmland
  14. snap — to click
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. field — for sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. court — for sport
  22. plane — a tool
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wound — an injury

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