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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 116 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. sharp — clever
  10. rest — what's left
  11. race — the arms race
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. game — wild animals
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. sharp — exactly

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