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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 124 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. stock — goods
  6. sharp — clever
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. saw — the tool
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stock — shares
  19. last — final
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. field — for sport
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  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