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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cold — an illness
  3. field — farmland
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. field — a subject
  7. rash — a series
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. key — in music
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bear — the animal
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bear — the animal
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. key — for a lock
  23. field — for sport
  24. key — the most important part

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