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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mug — a cup
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mug — a face
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mug — to rob
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. swing — to play on
  13. rash — a series
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. swing — in golf
  20. field — for sport
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. swing — music

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