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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. lie — to recline
  3. fine — high quality
  4. stem — to come from
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. key — for a lock
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. key — the most important part
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fine — all right
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. key — in music

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