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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. sharp — clever
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. field — a subject
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. field — for sport
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wind — moving air
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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