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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. game — a match
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — for sport
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. field — farmland
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. hand — help
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lean — thin
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. field — a subject
  23. hand — in cards
  24. game — wild animals

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