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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. field — for sport
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cap — a hat
  5. net — in sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mate — a friend
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cap — of ice
  11. rash — a series
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. net — after costs
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. field — farmland
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. rash — hasty
  19. mate — to breed
  20. pass — a permit
  21. net — for catching
  22. cap — a lid
  23. field — a subject
  24. nail — for a hammer

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