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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kid — child
  4. can — to be able to
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. can — a tin
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — to tease
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. shower — rain
  17. fine — high quality
  18. can — a tin
  19. fine — all right
  20. swing — in golf
  21. shower — to wash
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. swing — music
  24. ball — a round shape

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