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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. charge — a price
  4. row — a line
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. hand — in cards
  7. row — to paddle
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. club — for golf
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. field — a subject
  12. hand — help
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — electricity
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. field — farmland
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. club — for dancing
  21. field — for sport
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. club — a group

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