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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pass — a permit
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. object — to protest
  6. fall — the season
  7. kick — in football
  8. fall — to drop
  9. field — for sport
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. object — an aim
  13. wound — an injury
  14. object — a thing
  15. field — a subject
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. wound — an injury
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pass — to spend time

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