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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. swing — to play on
  3. tear — to rip
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mate — to breed
  8. swing — music
  9. net — for catching
  10. mate — a partner
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — in golf
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — a subject
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. net — after costs
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rush — hurry
  24. net — in sport

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