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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. field — a subject
  4. net — for catching
  5. race — a contest
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. field — farmland
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. field — for sport
  10. drill — the tool
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mark — a trace
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. drill — a practice
  16. net — after costs
  17. race — humankind
  18. drill — army training
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. net — in sport

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