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

Word bank: field · ground · toast · race · jam · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — farmland
  4. ground — the earth
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. race — a contest
  7. ground — crushed
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. field — a subject
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. field — for sport
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. toast — bread
  18. toast — the most admired

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