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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. kick — in football
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. hand — in cards
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. pop — music
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. field — farmland
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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