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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fall — to drop
  3. field — a subject
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. present — a gift
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. fall — to drop
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. fall — the season
  16. present — there
  17. mark — a trace
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. field — farmland
  20. present — the time now
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. field — for sport
  24. mark — a grade

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