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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. band — a music group
  4. cell — a phone
  5. band — a ring
  6. field — for sport
  7. key — the most important part
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. key — for a lock
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cell — in biology

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