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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. lean — thin
  3. field — farmland
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. kid — to tease
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — money
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. field — for sport
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. field — a subject
  24. capital — a city

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