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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · rock · sharp · mark · hand · key · patient · spell

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. key — the most important part
  3. sharp — clever
  4. rock — music
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. key — in music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. field — a subject
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. key — for a lock
  12. spell — letters
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. rock — a stone
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mark — a trace
  17. spell — magic
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — help
  21. field — farmland
  22. spell — a short time
  23. field — for sport
  24. mark — a grade

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