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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — an amount
  4. field — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. key — in music
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stock — goods
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — of law
  16. kick — in football
  17. key — the most important part
  18. court — for sport
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. degree — temperature
  23. key — for a lock
  24. stock — shares

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