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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mate — to breed
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mate — a partner
  5. charge — a price
  6. court — of law
  7. mate — a friend
  8. field — a subject
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wound — an injury
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. charge — electricity
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. swing — music
  16. field — farmland
  17. court — of a king
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. charge — in control
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. field — for sport
  22. swing — in golf
  23. court — for sport
  24. wound — an injury

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