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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. craft — a skill
  3. net — in sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. field — for sport
  6. land — a country
  7. net — after costs
  8. swing — music
  9. net — for catching
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. swing — to play on
  12. track — a song
  13. land — ground
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. field — farmland
  16. craft — boats
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. swing — in golf
  21. land — to come down
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. patient — a sick person

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