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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. clip — for paper
  4. field — farmland
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spring — the season
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — to cut
  9. can — a tin
  10. pit — in a race
  11. field — for sport
  12. cue — a hint
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. can — a tin
  16. cue — for pool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — a video
  20. spring — of water
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cue — a signal
  24. can — to be able to

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