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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. land — ground
  3. field — a subject
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. field — for sport
  6. key — for a lock
  7. land — a country
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. cue — a signal
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spring — a coil
  17. present — the time now
  18. land — to come down
  19. shower — rain
  20. present — a gift
  21. key — the most important part
  22. present — there
  23. field — farmland
  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