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

Word bank: mark · patient · race · object · coach · cold · field · tear

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tear — to rip
  3. object — to protest
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. mark — a trace
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — an illness
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cold — not warm
  14. object — a thing
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — from crying
  18. race — a contest
  19. field — farmland
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. object — an aim
  23. field — for sport
  24. tear — from crying

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