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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. drill — the tool
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. file — a line of people
  6. field — farmland
  7. board — to get on
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spell — letters
  10. file — a document
  11. spell — magic
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. field — for sport
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. file — a tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. board — a committee
  19. spell — a short time
  20. field — a subject
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. drill — army training
  23. kick — in football
  24. drill — a practice

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