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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 116 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. field — a subject
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wound — an injury
  6. firm — decided
  7. field — farmland
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. firm — steady
  12. press — newspapers
  13. rule — government
  14. press — to push
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. row — a line
  18. field — for sport
  19. rule — a law
  20. firm — a company
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. row — to paddle
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wound — an injury

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