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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. lean — thin
  4. can — to be able to
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. field — a subject
  8. degree — temperature
  9. key — in music
  10. date — the fruit
  11. degree — from a university
  12. field — for sport
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. key — for a lock
  15. stock — shares
  16. can — a tin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. can — a tin
  19. stock — goods
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. key — the most important part
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. patient — a sick person

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