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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wind — moving air
  3. branch — a division
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. field — a subject
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. field — for sport
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rule — a law
  14. staff — employees
  15. lie — to recline
  16. staff — employees
  17. rule — government
  18. scale — size or range
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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