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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rash — hasty
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. last — final
  5. field — a subject
  6. bound — tied together
  7. tear — to rip
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — certain
  12. field — for sport
  13. last — to go on
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. chip — for betting
  16. last — finally
  17. tear — from crying
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rash — a series
  20. chip — to eat
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bound — obliged

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