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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — a subject
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. field — farmland
  9. land — ground
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. field — for sport
  14. rash — hasty
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. land — to come down
  18. perch — the fish
  19. land — a country
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rash — a series

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