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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cold — an illness
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. current — of water
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. field — for sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rush — hurry
  23. roll — a list
  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