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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 · firm · patient · bay · cold · cell

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. field — farmland
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. field — a subject
  7. cell — a phone
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — decided
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in biology
  13. firm — steady
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. field — for sport
  18. cold — not warm

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