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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — for sport
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. branch — a division
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitch — completely
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spring — a coil
  15. season — of the year
  16. field — a subject
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spring — of water
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. branch — of a tree

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