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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 120 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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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. patient — a sick person
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mine — for digging
  8. field — a subject
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. chest — a box
  11. field — farmland
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cap — of ice
  15. field — for sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mug — to rob
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cap — a hat
  23. mug — a face
  24. fall — to drop

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