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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cold — an illness
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. key — in music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bore — to drill
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bore — to tire
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. key — the most important part
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. season — of the year
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. key — for a lock
  24. field — farmland

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