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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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. calf — a young animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. file — a document
  7. pound — a weight
  8. field — a subject
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pass — a permit
  13. file — a line of people
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. field — for sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. file — a tool
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. kid — child
  24. field — farmland

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