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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. mark — a trace
  5. clip — for paper
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. field — a subject
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. wake — a trail
  11. date — the fruit
  12. toast — bread
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. mark — a grade
  16. field — farmland
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. field — for sport
  20. pit — in a race
  21. clip — a video
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. clip — to cut
  24. date — on the calendar

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