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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. field — a subject
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a line of people
  9. field — for sport
  10. file — a document
  11. sharp — clever
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — farmland
  18. file — a tool
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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