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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. squash — the sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. band — a ring
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. chest — of your body
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. squash — to crush
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. field — a subject
  15. board — to get on
  16. chest — of your body
  17. board — a committee
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. chest — a box
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. date — the fruit
  23. field — for sport
  24. band — a music group

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