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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — a subject
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rock — a stone
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. field — farmland
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. net — after costs
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. saw — the tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. net — for catching
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. net — in sport
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rock — music

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