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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. spring — of water
  3. net — in sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. net — for catching
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. squash — to crush
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. degree — an amount
  12. field — farmland
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. lie — to recline
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. degree — temperature
  19. net — after costs
  20. spring — the season
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. spring — a coil
  24. squash — the 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