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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. field — farmland
  3. chest — of your body
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — a subject
  6. mate — to breed
  7. stem — to come from
  8. tear — to rip
  9. can — to be able to
  10. press — newspapers
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mate — a friend
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. can — a tin
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. chest — a box
  17. can — a tin
  18. field — for sport
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tear — from crying
  22. press — a publisher
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. press — to push

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