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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: patient · fall · bay · pit · shower · field · ground · swing

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. swing — to play on
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. fall — to drop
  9. swing — music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ground — a position
  16. swing — in golf
  17. field — farmland
  18. pit — a hole
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fall — the season
  21. shower — rain
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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