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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 120 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. bass — low music
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stand — to bear
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bound — certain
  11. march — music
  12. bound — obliged
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. hand — help
  17. field — for sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hand — in cards
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bound — tied together

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