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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. field — for sport
  3. rash — a series
  4. field — a subject
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mug — to rob
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cue — a hint
  9. rash — hasty
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cue — for pool
  12. field — farmland
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. mug — a face
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. vault — a safe
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cue — a signal
  24. mug — a cup

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