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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. object — an aim
  2. chest — of your body
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bank — for money
  7. object — a thing
  8. bank — of a river
  9. field — farmland
  10. track — a song
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. track — to keep track
  16. object — to protest
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bank — for money
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. track — a path
  23. chest — a box
  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