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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. clip — for paper
  3. field — farmland
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cell — in biology
  6. field — for sport
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lean — thin
  9. staff — employees
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. lean — to bend
  12. staff — employees
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. clip — to cut
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. clip — a video
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. patient — a sick person

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